The Adventures of Luna Ketchum
by ShadowSpadeX
Summary: It's been 15 years since Ash became a Pokémon Master, and in that time he's taken the role of Champion in Kanto, settled down with Misty in Pallet Town, and had a daughter named Luna. Now it's time for her to go on her own Pokémon adventure and to become a Pokémon Master, just like her father. Characters old and new await her, in the incredible world of Pokémon.
1. The Daughter of a Champion!

{[( This is a story about Ash Ketchum's daughter going out on her Pokémon adventure. In this story, Ash has successfully become a Pokémon Master, and has also obtained the title of Champion. He's now settled down in Pallet Town and though he still occasionally goes on adventures, it's not nearly as frequent. Also, Ash and Misty are married and Luna is their daughter.)]}

A girl with messy pink hair, flowing halfway down her back. She wears a black t-shirt under an open pink shirt with short white sleeves and blue jeans. As she finishes tying her shoes, she smiles, humming a tune quietly. "Alright, I'm going now!" She shouted.

"Luna, wait!" Ash shouted. It'd been 15 years since Ash officially became a Pokémon Master, so he'd grown up, but he was still recognizably the same person. He was dressed in a black t-shirt and a white vest trimmed with white and blue jeans. "Here, I want you to have this." He said, placing a hat on her head.

Luna took it off to get a look at it. "Huh? But dad, this is your Pokémon League Expo hat. It's your favorite."

He smiled. "Yeah, well, think about it as a good luck charm." Ash said. "It's just… that hat holds a lot of memories for me, and I want it to do the same for you."

Luna smiled. "Okay." She placed it on her head and smiled. "How's it look?"

"It looks great, Luna." Misty said, walking out of the other room. "You look just like your father in that outfit."

She smiled. "Well, to become a Champion, you should dress like a Champion… but I couldn't find the clothes to dress like Cynthia, so I went with this."

"Thanks for that.." Ash said.

Luna giggled. "I'm just kidding dad." She really was just joking. Though she thought of Cynthia as an amazing person and Champion, her father was her hero and she wanted to be a Pokémon Master, just like him.

Misty smiled. "So, you're really ready to go, huh?" She asked.

She nodded. "Yep. Today marks my first step to become a Pokémon Master!" She said, energetically.

Ash and Misty smiled at each other. "Well I guess you'd better get to the lab then, huh?" Misty said.

Luna gave a nod. "Well, be sure to tell Gar- I mean the professor I said hi."

She nodded. "I will." She opened the door and walked out, stopping at the end of the walkway. She turned around quickly, running to her parents and giving them a hug. "I love you."

The two hugged her back. "Be safe out there, kiddo." Ash said, with a warm smile.

"Make sure you call us when you get to Viridian City." Misty said.

Luna nodded. "I will. I'm gonna go now."

"Pika-pi!" Pikachu ran over to her, hopping into her arms, giving her a hug.

"I'll miss you too, Pikachu." She said, placing her back down on the ground.

Luna made her way down the street to the lab. "My name is Luna Ketchum, and only a couple days ago, I finally turned 10 years old. My dad is Ash Ketchum, the Champion of the Kanto Region and one of the greatest Pokémon Masters of all time. That's not just me saying it, it's actually been recorded. My mom used to run the Cerulean City Gym, but since she moved to Pallet Town, she hasn't really battled that much. She is one of the greatest Water-type trainers in the world though, and I'm really proud to be their daughter. My goal is to become a Pokémon Master, just like my dad. I don't really know what it means to become a Pokémon Master, but my dad says that you'll know it when the time is right. So I'm looking forward to that moment. And it all starts here."

"Professor, I'm here!" Luna said, excitedly coming through the doors of the lab.

"Oh, hey there, Luna." Gary said, walking over to her.

"Professor Oak retired a couple years ago and though he comes to the lab a lot still, Uncle Gary has been taking over though and he's been doing a great job."

"You ready for your starter Pokémon?" Gary asked.

She nodded. "Oh, my dad told me to tell you hi."

He smiled. "I'll have to tell him I got the message then."

Luna smiled. "So where are the starter Pokémon?"

"Slow down, Luna, we still have to wait for Sasha." He said, as the door opened. "Ah, there she is."

A girl with long brown hair and wearing a black t-shirt with an open green short sleeved one over it and grey jeans rushed into the room. "I can't believe you didn't wake me up!" She shouted. "Huh? Luna? You better not have already picked a Pokémon."

She shook her head. "No, I just got here."

"So you were late too, then? Like father like daughter." She said in a mocking tone.

"Well, when my dad was late he got Pikachu, which is the strongest one in recorded history, so…" Sasha froze up a bit. "Also, you were more late than me."

Sasha looked annoyed. "Well… I'm still choosing my Pokémon first."

Luna nodded. "That's fine." She said, smiling.

"Wait, if I choose first, you'll just choose the one mine is weak to. You know what, you go first." Sasha said, smirking. "I see your game."

Luna looked confused. "I don't know what you mean, but if you want me to go first, I can."

"Wait, I know what you're doing. Reverse psychology. Well, it's not going to work on me. I'm picking first and that's final!"

Luna raised an eyebrow. "Okay, I guess?"

Gary laughed. "Come on you two, the starter Pokémon are in the next room."

"What?!" Sasha shouted. "One of them is already gone!"

Luna smiled. "I'm glad Bulbasaur has a trainer. I hope they're getting along."

Sasha groaned. "I thought I was gonna be first."

"It doesn't matter who chooses first, as long as we get one, it's fine, right?" Luna said, smiling.

Sasha sighed. "Well, I was going to pick Squirtle anyway." She said, picking up the ball. "That's the one you got, right dad?" Gary nodded. "Ha! I got the best one. Now you have to pick the fire-type, which is weak to mine."

Luna nodded. "That's okay. The Ketchum family doesn't go easy mode anyway." She said picking up the ball with Charmander in it and tossing it up in the air, letting Charmander out.

"Char?" Charmander looked around, looking over to Gary and then over to Luna.

"Oh, you're so cute! Hi Charmander, my name is Luna. And from today onward, we're going to be best friends!"

Charmander smiled. "Char Char!"

"My Pokémon is cute too." Sasha said, tossing the ball and letting Squirtle out.

Luna nodded. "You're right, Squirtle is pretty cute. Hey, since we both have our Pokémon out right now, why don't we have a battle?" She asked, energetically tossing Charmander's PokéBall in the air and swiping it out of the air, catching it.

Sasha saw how determined Luna looked and huffed. "I don't think so. I'd hate for you to have to rush to the Pokémon Center right after getting Charmander. We'll battle next time we see each other. Though, I'll probably win."

Luna smiled. "Alright then, it's a deal. Next time we see each other, we'll have a battle!"

Gary smiled. "Alright you two, here take these with you. These are the most up-to-date PokéDex models. And here are five PokéBalls." The two girls took them and placed them in their pockets. "Now go, you two. An exciting world of adventures await you. I wish you luck."

"I'll make you proud dad. Well, Luna, I'm gonna get a head-start. Smell ya later!" Sasha said as she ran out the door.

Gary shook his head. "Hey, watch out for her, alright. I used to be over confident like her. She'll come around eventually."

Luna nodded. "I'll make sure she's alright. Well, I guess we'd better go, right Charmander?" She said smiling. "Bye Uncle… Professor."

"You don't have to be so formal about it." Gary said, smiling.

She smiled. "Okay. I'm off!" She said, turning and running off to the town limits. "Well, Charmander, this is it. Our adventure begins now. Are you ready?" She asked.

Charmander nodded. "Charmander! Char Char! Cha?" Charmander looked up above her, seemingly in awe.

"What is it?" Luna asked, looking up. "Wait… that's…" She reached into her pocket and pulled out her PokéDex.

"Ho-Oh, the Rainbow Pokémon. This legendary Pokémon is said to only appear to trainers destined for greatness. Many people have searched their entire lives and never seen it."

"It's Ho-Oh! It's really Ho-Oh!" Luna shouted.

At their home, Ash looked out the window, seeing Ho-Oh fly overhead. "Hey, look!"

"Huh? Oh wow!" Misty said, smiling.

Ash smiled. "Do you think Ho-Oh knows?"

Misty smiled at him. "Maybe. After all, Ho-Oh did give you it's blessing, Mr. Pokémon Master." She said, giving him a kiss on the cheek.

Ash blushed a bit. "Misty."

"What?" She said, smirking. "Come on, we've got some chores to take care of."

Luna made her way through Route 1 and happily hummed a theme she thought would be fitting for the walk. "And so begins the Adventures of Luna Ketchum on her quest to become a Pokémon Master. Along the way, she'll encounter new friends, tough battles, and more excitement than she could ever imagine. Who knows what lies ahead for her, in the incredible world of Pokémon!"

{[( Yes, that last narration part is her talking to herself. Honestly, I want to write Luna going on adventures so this is hopefully going to be more than just a few chapters. I'm really trying to think of more characters and how her story will go, since I initially came up with this idea when trying to write how I would end the anime, but while writing it, I realized I really wanted to write this.)]}


	2. Friends at First Bite!

{[( Alright, here we go, chapter 2! Hope you guys will enjoy. I'm pretty much making things up as I go, but here's hoping that leads somewhere good.)]}

Luna had been walking for a long time, and even traveled past the spot where her dad told her he first saw Ho-Oh on his own Pokémon journey. She had battled a few wild Pokémon, but unfortunately, she wasn't able to catch any of them. But at least she made it here. "There it is. Viridian City." She said with a smile.

She made her way down into the city, searching around for a Pokémon Center to stay at. "Well, hello there." A woman said, politely.

"Huh? Oh, hi Officer Jenny! Hey, do you know where the Pokémon Center is? I'm a trainer and I wanted to find somewhere to stay for the night." Luna said smiling.

Jenny smiled. "You just started, huh? Sure, I know the way. If you want, I can take you there myself."

"Yeah! That'd be-" That was when she remembered what her dad told her about when he accepted a ride from Viridian City's Jenny. "N-no, I think I'll be okay. I just need to know what way to go so I can call my parents and let them know I'm safe."

Jenny smiled. "Awe, what a sweet kid. What's your name."

"I'm Luna Ketchum from Pallet Town." She said, smiling.

Jenny smiled. "Oh, you're Ash Ketchum's daughter then? Wow, I thought you might be coming through here soon, but you got here faster than I thought."

"Huh? Why do you say that?" She asked a bit confused.

She smiled. "Your friend Sasha came through a little bit ago. She asked if you were here yet and when I told her no, she just ran off."

Luna looked down. "So that means that she's already been through Viridian City… has she battled the Gym yet?" She asked.

Jenny shook her head. "No, the Gym Leader here though probably shouldn't be your first one. It's got a pretty strong leader."

Luna nodded. "So, I should come back later on then."

"Come on, I'll give you a ride to the Center." Jenny said, motioning to her motorcycle.

Luna smiled. "Okay." She followed her to the bike and climbed into the side car. "Wait a minute…" She said quietly. But it was too late, Jenny had taken off and now Luna had to hold on tight just to keep herself from being thrown out of her seat.

To her credit, Jenny did get her to the Pokémon Center in no time at all, but Luna still felt her stomach turning a bit. "Are you alright?" Jenny asked.

Luna nodded, stepping out of the side car slowly. "Yeah, I'm alright, my stomach's just feeling kind of…" She stopped herself, not wanting to make Jenny feel bad for how she drove her here since she did help. "Hungry. I haven't had anything to eat for a bit. I'm gonna go inside now. Thank you Officer Jenny!" She said, running inside.

"No problem, kid. Good luck with your Gym Challenge!" Jenny shouted.

Luna smiled back to her and continued inside. "Alright, first things first. I've got to-"

"Well well. Fancy meeting you here." A familiar voice said.

She smiled and turned to the person who'd said that. "Uncle Brock! What are you doing here?"

Brock smiled. "I was just here to help out Nurse Joy with a couple things. She had a Pokémon that she was having trouble figure out what was happening and she called to ask for some assistance. I guess the Pokémon has this rare virus called PokéRus."

"That sounds horrible…" Luna said, sadly.

"Actually, it's a good virus." Brock said. "It causes the infected Pokémon to become stronger more quickly for a short time. Maybe a week or two at most. But, it's harmless to the Pokémon. Nurse Joy just wanted to confirm that was right before telling the trainer."

Luna smiled. "Well, you are the best Pokémon Doctor in the region."

He shook his head. "You give me too much credit. I was just the closest professional. Anyway, what are you doing here? Are you on your Pokémon Journey?"

Luna nodded. "I just started it. Wanna see my friend?"

Brock smiled. "Sure."

"Alright then. Charmander, come on out!" She said, excitedly and tossing the ball up in the air, letting her Pokémon out of it's ball.

"Char char!"

Brock smiled. "Ah, a Charmander, huh?"

She nodded. "It was the last one there, but I kind of feel like I was meant to pick Charmander. I wouldn't have it any other way."

He smiled and nodded. "Looks like it's nice and healthy. Do you have any other Pokémon?" He asked.

She shook her head. "No, I have trouble with getting them to stay in the ball. The PokéDex says that wild Pokémon are jealous of Pokémon that are trained by people, so why do they still break out?"

"Some Pokémon need proof that you'll be a good enough trainer for them to allow themselves to be caught." Brock said. "Though not all Pokémon want to be captured."

Luna nodded. "I guess that makes sense. Still, I wish I caught at least one other Pokémon. I bet Sasha's already got, like, 20 of them."

Brock shook his head. "I don't think that's possible."

"You think she failed at catching Pokémon too?" She asked.

"No, but you were both only given five PokéBalls. It wouldn't be possible to catch more than that unless you had more." Brock said.

Luna awkwardly looked down. "Right."

He smiled. "Hey, cheer up. Sooner or later you'll catch plenty of Pokémon."

Luna nodded. "Yeah, you're right!"

Brock nodded as well. "So, think you'll be stopping by the Pewter Gym?"

She smiled. "Of course! I'm gonna make that my first badge ever!"

He laughed a bit. "Alright then, I'll look forward to it."

"Huh?" She said, confused. "But I thought you weren't the Gym Leader anymore."

He shrugged. "I wouldn't mind coming in for a battle with you. But just try not to use an electric-type Pokémon against mine, alright? They won't really be doing much unless you accidentally turn on the sprinklers."

Luna looked at him with narrowed eyes. "Why would I do that? Everyone knows electric-types are weak to ground."

Brock laughed a bit. "Well, Luna, I'd better get going, but I'll see you at the Gym, alright?"

She nodded. "Right. Bye Uncle Brock!" She said, turning around and running over to the phones.

"Ring-ring-ring! Ring-ring-ring! Phone call! Phone call!" The phone began going off at the Ketchum house.

Luna sat on the stool, kicking her feet and humming before Misrty's face appeared on the screen. "Oh, Luna!"

"Hi mom. I wanted to let you know that I made it to Viridian City." She said.

She smiled. "Wow, you got there even faster than your dad."

"Is that Luna?" Ash shouted, running over to the phone. "Luna!"

"Hi dad." She said. "Oh, I saw Uncle Brock here too. He said he was helping Nurse Joy with something."

Ash smiled. "That's great!"

Luna nodded. "So, how was your walk to Viridian City? Anything exciting happen?" Misty asked.

"Well, I uh… I fought a Sentret." Luna said, awkwardly. "And I battled a couple Pidgey." She wasn't quite sure what to say since she hadn't caught anything. "Oh, before I left though, I saw something amazing!" She looked over on the wall and then pointed to one of the four tiles. "Dad, I saw it too, just like you did. I saw Ho-Oh!"

Ash and Misty looked at each other with big smiles. "That's amazing, sweetie." Misty said.

"You know, if you saw Ho-Oh, that means it wanted you to see it." Ash said, smiling

Luna looked surprised. "Really? Ho-Oh wanted me to see it?"

Ash nodded. "Yeah. It only lets itself be seen by trainers that it truly thinks are worthy of seeing it."

She had a look of awe on her face. "I thought the PokéDex was just exaggerating…" She said, smiling. "So Ho-Oh let me see it because it thinks I'm a worthy trainer."

"You don't need that to know you'll be a great trainer, Luna." Misty said, smiling. "Just believe in yourself and you'll be fine."

Luna nodded. "Right. I'll make you proud."

"Luna, we're already proud of you." Misty said, happily. "Oh, and Grandma says good luck and that she's sorry she couldn't see you off."

Luna smiled. "It's fine. She kind of smothers me anyway. She is who packed my bag after all."

Ash nodded. "Yeah, she can be like that. Anyway, we'll let you go now, Luna. Get some rest."

Luna nodded. "Okay, I will. Good night."

"We love you Luna." Misty said, smiling.

"I love you too." She said, hanging up the call.

Misty breathed a sigh of relief. "I'm glad she got there nice and safe."

Ash nodded. "Come on, let's get to bed. It's been a long day for both of us."

Misty nodded and the two of them went to their room and quickly fell asleep.

Luna smiled, turning to her Charmander. "Alright, Char-"

"Hey, stop that!" A boy shouted. "Stop biting me!" He said, annoyed at a small Pokémon.

Luna pulled out her PokéDex, to see what it was.

"Poochyena, the Bite Pokémon. It has a very tenacious nature. Its acute sense of smell lets it chase a chosen prey without ever losing track."

"Poochyena, I said stop!" He shouted again. He was dressed in a red and white jacket and a green t-shirt with a pair of black jeans. His hair was orange.

Luna smiled and came over to the boy. "Excuse me." She said, Charmander by her side. "I'm sorry, but I couldn't help but overhear. Is your Poochyena acting up?"

The boy nodded. "Yeah, she is and I don't know what's gotten into her. She gets this way about this time every night." He said, sighing. "Maybe she just doesn't like me."

Luna looked down at Poochyena, giving it a smile. "How old is she?"

"Uh, I'm not sure. I just found her and she seemed to like me at first, so I took her home." He replied.

She took a closer look at it. "Looks like it's pretty young. She's probably just playing and excited because it's night time. Poochyena looks like she really likes it when it's night time." She smiled and patted the small Pokémon on the head. "She's probably also still having her teeth come in. If you give her something to chew on, maybe she'll stop biting as much."

"Huh? Her teeth? You think she's that young?" He asked, looking to the Poochyena. "Alright then, what sort of thing do you want to chew on, Poochyena?" He asked.

The Pokémon, of course, didn't reply. "Here, it's not a toy, but I do carry some hard treats for Pokémon I come across. Maybe those will help." Luna said, pulling out a box and handing him one of the treats. "Give this to her. She's your Poochyena after all so you should feed it to her."

The boy nodded. "Okay, thank you, uh…"

"Luna. My name's Luna." She said, happily.

The boy smiled. "Luna, huh? My name's Ryan. So, are you a Pokémon trainer?"

She nodded. "Mhm. I just started today, but I'm gonna be a Pokémon Master someday, just like my dad."

Ryan smiled. "Wait, your dad?"

"Uh-huh. My dad's Ash Ketchum." She said, proudly.

Ryan's eyes widened. "Your dad's a Champion? That's amazing!"

She smiled brightly. "Yeah. My dad's the best. My mom used to be the Cerulean City Gym Leader too, so battling in my blood."

Ryan nodded. "Sounds like it. Good luck on your journey. With parents like that, there's no way you'll fail."

She smiled. "Thank you. What about you? Are you a trainer?"

Ryan sighed and shook his head. "No. To be honest, I don't know what I want to be." He knelt down and feeding the treat to Poochyena.

Luna was caught somewhat off guard by what he'd said. "Why don't you come with me?"

"Huh? What do you mean?" Ryan asked.

She smiled. "Come travel with me. Who knows, maybe if you do, you'll find out what you really want to do."

He smiled. "Thank you, but I wouldn't want to intrude on your adventure like that."

"It's not intruding if you're invited." She giggled a bit. "Come on, it'll be fun. Besides, adventures are always more fun if you have a few friends to join you."

Ryan saw the smile on her face, and sighed. "Let me think about it, alright? If nothing else, I'd have to tell my parents I'm leaving home."

She nodded. "Take all the time you need. I'll be heading off through the Viridian Forest tomorrow, so if you want to join me you'll have some catching up to do. Even more if you wait longer." She gave him a few extra treats for Poochyena. "Okay, I better go check into a room now. I've had a big first day and tomorrow's gonna be even bigger. Tomorrow for sure, I make my first Pokémon capture!" She said, confidently. "Good night." She said, walking away.

"Good night. And thanks, Luna." He said, smiling. He looked down at Poochyena, who watched Luna walk away before turning back to him. "Let's go home. I'll give you another one of these when we get back." Poochyena barked a bit and the two left the Pokémon Center.

"Hi Nurse Joy." Luna said, approaching the counter.

She smiled. "Well hello there, Luna."

"You know my name?" She asked.

"I overheard you speaking with Ryan. Thank you so much for helping him. I'd have done it myself, but by the time I was able to, you were already talking and Poochyena seemed to have calmed down."

Luna smiled. "I hope he accepts my invitation. My dad always used to travel with other people. That's how he met my mom."

She nodded. "Ah yes, I remember him. Though, I was only in training at the time. It was my older sister who was working here back then."

Luna nodded. "I'd like to stay and talk, but I'm pretty tired from my walk here today and I really need to sleep."

Joy smiled. "Oh, of course. Here, I'll watch your Charmander over night for you." She said, placing a tray on the table.

Luna nodded. "Charmander, return." She said, the red beam pulling it into the ball. Afterward, she placed the ball on the tray and Nurse Joy returned to her with a room key.

{[( And there's chapter 2. I wanted to accomplish more in this one, but I feel like the amount I wrote was enough. Next time, I'll probably have a bit more happen.)]}


	3. Luna Catches a Pokémon!

{[( Alright, here we go, chapter three!)]}

"The sun rises and Luna ventures off into the forest. She walks confidently as the takes in a deep breath to start her day." Luna said, narrating again. "As she walks into Viridian Forest, she can't help but wonder what new friends await her."

"Alright, let's try this again! Use bubble!" A girl shouted. "Now Icy Wind!"

Luna made her way toward the shouting person. "Wonder what that's about." She said, stepping through the trees.

A girl, with long brown hair pulled into a ponytail and dressed in a white short sleeved collared shirt and black jeans shot out her hand. "Now, use Swift!"

The Pokémon she was commanding sent out a flurry of stars at the frozen bubbles in the air, causing them to shatter and sparkle as they slowly fell around it.

Luna smiled, her eyes sparkling as much as the ice crystals before she pulled out her PokéDex.

"Seel, the Sea Lion Pokémon. The protruding horn on its head is very hard. It is used for bashing through thick icebergs."

She suddenly got the idea of Seel smashing it's head against an iceberg repeatedly, making her giggle a bit. "Wait… I didn't know Seel could learn Bubble or Swift…" She said, surprised. "I guess if Lanturn can know Earthquake though, anything is possible."

"That was perfect Seel! We'll win the Pewter Contest for sure!" The girl shouted.

Luna smiled and clapped, causing the girl to notice her. "That was amazing!"

The girl smiled. "Oh, I didn't know we had an audience this time." She said. "Look at that, Seel, your first fan."

"Seel!" The Seel began clapping too as Luna came over.

"You said something about a Contest right? Are you a Pokémon Coordinator?" She asked.

The girl nodded. "Well, at least I'm going to be one. I can't really say I am until I've entered a contest." She replied. "I'm Natalia, but everyone calls me Nat."

Luna gave a big smile. "Hi, Nat. My name's Luna. Everyone just.. Calls me Luna." She said a bit awkwardly.

Nat giggled. "So, what brings you to the Viridian Forest?"

"Well, actually, I was making my way through to Pewter City. There's a Pokémon Gym there and I'm gonna challenge it." Luna said, confidently.

Nat smiled. "Oh, taking on the Gym Challenge, huh?" She said. "Well, I'm heading that way too, though I guess you already knew that."

Luna nodded. "I might have overheard."

She nodded as well. "Alright then. Well, if we're going the same way, we might as well go together. No sense in splitting up, right?"

Luna smiled. "Right."

The two of them set off on the trail through the forest.

"So your dad's the Champion huh?" Nat said, snacking on some berries as they walked. "That's cool. I bet you have loads of people get all geeked out when they talk to you, huh?"

She nodded. "Yeah, it's kind of embarrassing sometimes, but I'm really proud to be his daughter. I feel bad though, because people always overlook my mom."

"Your mom's Misty, right? The former Gym Leader in Cerulean City?" Nat said, passively. "She really wrecked people with her Gyarados back in the day, from what I hear. Rumor has it that she was the strongest Water-type Gym Leader while she was still there."

Luna looked surprised. "How did you know that?"

"Isn't it public knowledge that Ash Ketchum married Misty Waterflower? Kind of a big thing to overlook. Sure she's not a Champion, but she's still one of the best Water-type Specialists in the world." She said, confused.

Luna smiled. "She really is. Oh, I almost forgot, my dad's friends with a few Pokémon coordinators!" She said, excitedly.

"Really? Anyone I would know about?" She asked, popping another berry into her mouth.

Luna scratched her head. "Maybe. One of them is Dawn Berlitz."

Nat nodded. "From the Sinnoh region, right? She's pretty good. I've been wanting to see her live, but she never comes through Kanto."

Luna smiled. "And the other one is his friend May Maple. He used to travel with both of them and… huh?" She looked next to her to see that Nat was gone. "Nat?"

Nat had stopped dead in her tracks staring at Luna. "Your dad knows May?... Like Petalburg City, May? Daughter of Norman, the Gym Leader, May?"

Luna nodded. "Yeah. Her brother is Max, who's come in the top 8 of the recent Kanto League."

Nat looked at her, frozen for a moment. "May is one of the greatest Coordinators of all time. Her and Marina Kris are, like, my heroes!" She said, excitedly. "Wait, does your dad know Marina too?"

Luna tried to think. "I don't know. But May probably does. I can ask my dad if you want."

"Yes, do it! I want to meet them!" Nat said, grabbing onto Luna's shirt.

Luna nodded. "Uh.. sure, but first we have to get to Pewter City so I can call him…"

Nat smiled. "Then what are we just standing around for? We've got a city to get to!" She said, striding forward energetically.

Luna smiled. "Alright then." She said following along.

After some time, the two of them both decided to sit down and have lunch. "Wow, this tastes amazing, Nat!" She said, biting into a sandwich.

"That's what you get when you make jam from fresh berries." Nat said, confidently. "Hey, sorry for going all firecracker on you before. I just… I'm a really big fan of those two." She said, awkwardly.

"I understand. Though, you didn't seem so enthusiastic when I brought up Dawn. Do you not like her?" Luna asked.

She shook her head. "No, it's nothing like that. It's just, the first contest I ever went to was one that both May and Marina were in. I've never seen Dawn in person before, but I think she's very good."

"I understand that, I guess." Luna said, taking another bite out of her sandwich.

Nat noded. "It's kind of like… you know the Johto Champion, Jimmy Gold?"

Luna nodded. "Yeah, my dad battled him once on the top of Mt. Silver. He says the match ended in a tie, but I think my dad actually won."

Nat giggled. "Well, imagine if you were there to see that battle happen."

"See it happen?" Luna said, picturing it. "That would be amazing!"

"Right, and now picture him battling, say, Jasmine from the Olivine Gym." Nat said.

Luna looked down, thinking about that. "I mean, I heard she's good, but I don't know her and I've never really seen her battle… oh, I get it."

Nat smiled and nodded. "I bet if you meet her and see her battle first hand, you'll think she's awesome, but until then she's just a strong trainer that you've heard about and maybe seen a few times on tv."

Luna smiled and nodded as well. "I understand. Well hopefully you'll get to see Dawn someday. She's really nice."

"I look forward to meeting her, then." Nat said, finishing the first half of her sandwich. Luna stood up suddenly. "Something wrong?"

Luna smiled. "Look at that!" She shouted, pulling out her PokéDex.

"Combee, the Tiny Bee Pokémon. At night, Combee sleep in a group of about a thousand, packed closely together in a lump. Female Combee are said to be very rare and are the only ones known to evolve."

"A Combee, huh? How do I tell if it's a girl or not?" She asked, curiously. "Well, that doesn't matter. I'm gonna catch it anyway."

"Wait, you're not even going to check? Not to be rude, but since male Combee don't evolve, it's not going to be very strong." Nat said.

Luna smiled. "A Pokémon's strength has nothing to do with evolution! All that matters is that the Pokémon and their trainer have the passion to keep pushing forward. Charmander let's do this!"

Charmander came out of the ball. "Char Char!"

"Charmander, use scratch on that Combee!" She shouted.

Charmander ran at Combee, jumping up and hitting it to the ground with it's claws. "Now, Charmander, use Ember!"

Charmander spun around rapidly, causing the flame on it's tail to toss small bits of fire onto the Combee.

"This is it!" She said, excitedly. She spun the hat on her head around and took one of her empty PokéBalls. "PokéBall, go!" She shouted, tossing the ball at Combee, causing it to be pulled inside.

The ball fell to the ground, the button blinking red as it shook on the ground. After a moment though, the light stopped blinking and the ball remained still. Luna's determined face slowly grew into a big smile. "We… we did it. We actually did it! Charmander, we finally did it! We caught a Pokémon!"

"Char! Charmander!" It said, excitedly.

Nat smiled. "She's that excited about catching a Combee, huh?" She said, shaking her head. "Wish I could be like that."

"Alright, Combee, come on out!" She said, tossing it's ball in the air, Combee appearing in front of her. "Here, have this." she said, handing it a couple of Oran Berries.

Combee cautiously ate them out of her hand, but afterward it appeared to be happy. "Let me introduce myself. Hi Combee, my name is Luna. And this is my buddy Charmander. We're on a quest to become a Pokémon Master and from this day forward, you and are are going to be friends!"

Combee smiled, and bounced around a bit, happily. "Sorry we kind of jumped you like that, but I was just so happy to see a Pokémon and you were just so cute, I had to catch you." She pulled out her PokéDex and scanned Combee. "Hm… ah! Nat, Combee's a girl!" She shouted.

"Wait, seriously?" Nat asked, looking over to it. "Is that what that red part means? I've never seen a Combee with that on it before."

Luna smiled. "Well, since all three of your faces are smiling, I'm guessing you're happy. Come on, we were just sitting down to eat. I'll give you some Pokémon Treats. I have some that I've heard are really popular with bug-type Pokémon."

Nat smiled and sighed a bit. "She just caught it and she's already treating it like she's known it forever. I wonder what parent she gets this from." She said, taking a bite out of the second half of her sandwich.

After they finished eating, Charmander went back into it's ball, but Luna kept Combee out of the ball, talking to it as they walked. Nat couldn't help but smile at the enthusiasm that she had with her Pokémon. She told Combee stories from before she got Charmander, jokes, she talked about her parents. She just seemed to not run out of things to say, but after a while the sun began to set, and Nat suggested that the two should set up camp for the night.

After a small meal for dinner, the two trainers and their Pokémon fell asleep, both eager to get up in the morning and continue through the forest.

{[( I realize there's not really conflict, but I don't really know how to introduce one at this time. I want to develop the characters and their relationships a bit more before throwing more stuff into it. It could be a while, but I will have some sort of evil team show up.)]}


	4. Battle of the Badge!

{[( Here we go, chapter 4. Hope this one's a good one, because I haven't even written it as of writing this sentence.)]}

"Well, there it is. Pewter City." Luna said, smiling. "Hey, why is it called Pewter City anyway? Is it named after a computer or something?"

Nat shook her head. "No, there's a type of alloy that's called pewter, and they named the town after it. Kind of like how Pallet Town is named after a painting pallet."

"Actually, Pallet Town is named after Pallet Oak. I don't know all the details, but I guess he was a really great trainer and the town renamed itself from Purity Town to Pallet Town to honor him." Luna said, casually.

"Wait, is that seriously why it's called that?" Nat asked.

Luna nodded. "Yeah. Professor Oak told me that, so it must be true."

"Well, I learned something today." Nat said, smiling as she proceeded forward into the city. "Let's go check in at the Pokémon Center. We can ask directions to the Gym from there."

"Oh, I already know where it is. I've been there a couple times." Luna said, following her.

Nat looked somewhat surprised. "Wait, you've been to the Gym?"

Luna nodded. "Uh-huh. My mom and dad battled Uncle Brock for a battle demonstration one time. But we should go drop off our Pokémon at the Center anyway so they can rest up."

"Uncle Brock? Your parents just know everyone, don't they?" Nat said, surprised. "Next thing I know, you'll tell me they know Serena Yvonne or something."

"They do." She said, simply.

Nat stopped for a moment. "Okay seriously, is there anyone your parents don't know? I'm starting to get a little jealous." She said, catching up to Luna.

"Um… well I don't know if they know Mariner." Luna said, trying to think.

"You mean Marina?" Nat asked.

She nodded. "Yeah, her. I don't know if they know her, but someone they know probably knows her. You said May and her were in a contest together, so they probably know each other."

Nat nodded too. "Well, that's not important right now. What is important is your Gym Battle. Are you sure you'll be okay to take on this one? I mean both of your Pokémon are weak to rock types. Do you want to maybe borrow my Seel?"

She shook her head. "I want to win this battle with my Pokémon. Besides, Pokémon types aren't everything. If a trainer and their Pokémon are passionate enough, they can accomplish anything."

Nat nodded and they continued to the Pokémon Center to drop off their Pokémon.

Luna had run off to the video phones to call her parents while Nat was left to wait around in the main area until her call was done.

"I'm back." Luna said, coming over to her.

Nat smiled. "So, how was your call?"

She smiled. "It was nice. I miss having them with me. But now that you're here, it's not as lonely."

Nat's expression faded. "Lonely?"

Luna nodded. "Mhm. Even though I have my Pokémon with me, I still want a person to talk to sometimes. I thought I found someone back in Viridian City, but he made excuses to not come with me."

Nat wasn't really sure what to say. She was always just fine on her own, but she could tell that Luna wasn't great at being alone and even then, with the status her parents have, a lot of people probably pretend to be her friend just to meet them or other people they might know.

"Nat?" Luna said, worried. "Are you okay?"

She stared for a moment, seeing the genuine concern in Luna's eyes. "Hey, Luna. You know I'm not tagging along just because you know May, right?" She asked.

Luna looked confused. "Huh? Of course I do."

Nat smiled. "Good. Come on, let's go take a look around the city while our Pokémon rest up. I saw a shop nearby I want to check out."

The two of them wandered off into a shopping district, where Nat lead Luna into a clothing store. "I was thinking of updating my look, just a bit." She smiled and looked Luna up and down. "Maybe we could work on your look too."

Luna shook her head. "Nope. This is how I want to look." She said smiling. "To become a Champion, you have to dress like a Champion."

Nat smiled. "Fair enough. Alright then, help me find something." She said, walking off.

After trying on several clothes, Nat found herself unable to find something that she thought looked good enough to get. She came out of the changing room, back in her normal clothes and sighed. "Alright, Luna let's go. There's nothing… Luna?" She said looking around.

Luna came running around the corner. "Nat, I found something!" She said, holding up a light blue tie. "Look what I bought!"

Nat smiled. "That's actually a really nice tie. But… why did you get it. It doesn't really go with what you're wearing."

Luna giggled. "I didn't buy it for me, silly. I bought it for you."

"Huh?" She asked. "You got this for me?"

Luna smiled and nodded. "You said to help you find something." She said, placing the tie around Nat's neck and tying it somewhat loosely. "There." She said, standing back and smiling. "Wow, it looks really great on you."

"Luna, you didn't have to buy this for me." Nat said.

She smiled. "I know. I didn't do it because I had to. I did it because you're my friend."

Nat looked down at the tie, smoothing it out a bit before a smile came across her face. "Thanks, Luna. This means a lot to me."

Luna nodded. "No problem. Now you're all ready for your big premiere as a Pokémon Coordinator."

Nat nodded. "That I am. Alright, now what do you want to do?"

"I kind of want to go and get my battle out of the way." Luna said smiling.

Nat raised an eyebrow. "I understand the hurry, but why do you make it sound like it has to be dome so quickly?"

"Because if I don't then I won't be able to cheer for you in the Contest tomorrow." She said smiling.

Nat smiled. "You don't have to do that. I don't want you to rush through your battle."

She shook her head. "No one said I was rushing anything. Uncle Brock said he'd be waiting for me and I don't want to keep him waiting."

Nat sighed. "You're one strange girl. Alright, let's go get our Pokémon and then we'll head straight to the Gym."

The two of them made their way toward the Pokémon Center and after clarifying where the Gym was in relation to other places, just in case they got lost on the way.

The two girls now stood in front of the Gym, anxious about Luna's first official Pokémon League battle. "You've got this, Luna."

Luna nodded. "Right." She said, putting her hands to the door but just before she pushed to open them, they opened from the inside and someone stepped out. "Huh? Oh, hey!"

"Hm? Luna?!" Sasha said, surprised. "What are you doing here?"

Luna looked at her confused. "Huh? I'm challenging the Gym. Weren't you doing the same thing?"

"Well of course I am. Actually, I just won this." Sasha said, pulling out a badge case and showing her the Boulder Badge. "It was easy. Squirtle beat his first Pokémon no problem and the Whooper I caught in the forest made things even easier for the second Pokémon."

"You caught a Whooper? That's great! Did you catch anything else?" She asked, excitedly.

Sasha nodded. "Yep. I caught a Spearow, Rattata, and I even got a Weedle and evolved it into a Kakuna already." She said smiling. "What about you?"

"I got a Combee." Luna said happily.

Sasha looked at her with a raised eyebrow. "Wait, you came to a rock-type Gym with nothing but a fire-type and a bug/flying-type?" She said, placing a hand on her hip. "Do you want to lose or something?"

"What was that?" Nat said, annoyed.

"And who are you?" Sasha asked.

Luna tugged on her sleeve. "Nat, you don't have to do this."

"Luna, I've got this. How can you talk to Luna like that?" Nat asked.

Sasha looked over at her. "What's your problem? Everyone knows those types are weak to rock-type Pokémon. There's no way she can win."

"Pokémon types aren't everything." Nat said. "Her Pokémon might be at a disadvantage, but that doesn't matter so long as she and her Pokémon have the passion and drive to keep going."

Sasha laughed. "You're just as hopeless as she is. I hope you're not challenging the Gym too."

"As a matter of fact, I'm a Pokémon Coordinator. I don't do Gym Challenges." Nat said, confidently.

Sasha nodded. "That makes sense. There's not as much skill needed for those."

"What did you just say?" Nat said, glaring at Sasha. "You over-confident little… alright then, you're so good at battling, why don't we have a match right now?"

Sasha shook her head. "I don't think so."

"What? Are you scared or something?" Nat taunted.

Sasha looked at her, now annoyed herself. "What did you just say?"

"You heard me." Nat said, lifting a PokéBall up in her hand.

Sasha huffed. "I don't have time for this. I've gotta get going to Cerulean City to get my next Gym Badge." She said, walking away.

"Good luck." Luna said, smiling.

Nat sighed. "You wanna fill me in on what just happened?" She said, still a bit annoyed at the girl.

"Oh, that's Sasha. She's my friend and rival." Luna said, with a big smile.

Nat put her PokéBall away. "Luna, friends don't talk to or about each other that way." She said, quietly. "Anyway, let's get inside so you can have your battle."

Luna nodded. "Right." She opened the doors, as they had closed while they were talking with Sasha. "My name is Luna Ketchum from Pallet Town and I am going to be the next great Pokémon Master! I've come to challenge the Pewter City Gym for a Boulder Badge!" She said confidently.

A man laughed, sitting in a chair on the other side of the battlefield. "Ah, another trainer from Pallet Town, I see. I'm terribly sorry, but I'm afraid that the young lady who just left has left me without Pokémon to battle with." He said, apologetically. "I'm afraid I'll have to-"

"I'll take this one." Brock said, entering the Gym. "After all, I still have all the qualifications I need to be able to award the Gym Badge."

The man laughed. "Of course. Well, I suppose I'll leave this to you." He said, letting Brock take over.

"So, Luna. Are you sure you're ready for this?" Brock asked.

Luna nodded. "Of course I'm ready. I'm gonna battle you, Uncle Brock, and I'm gonna win that badge."

Brock smiled. "Alright then. Let's go, Roggenrola!"

"Roggenrola?" Luna said, pulling out her PokéDex.

"Roggenrola, the Mantle Pokémon. The hexagonal cavity is its ear. It walks in the direction of sounds it hears, but if the sounds cease, it panics and topples over."

Luna smiled. "I've never seen that one before. Alright then." She turned the hat on her head backwards on her head and pulled out a ball. "I choose you, Charmander!"

Charmander appeared on the battlefield. "Char!"

Nat smiled. "You've got this!"

"Thanks, Nat!" Luna said, smiling before turning toward Brock. "Alright, let's do this! Charmander, hit it with a Scratch attack!"

Charmander ran up to Roggenrola, scratching at it, but it didn't appear to be doing much, if anything at all. "Alright, Roggenrola, Tackle!"

Roggenrola tackled Luna's Charmander, knocking it backward. "Charmander, are you alright?" Charmander nodded. "Alright, Flamethrower!" Charmander opened it's mouth and a stream of fire shot out at Roggenrola. It seemed to do more damage, but it still didn't look like it was doing much.

"Rock Blast!" Brock shouted.

Roggenrola began firing rocks at Charmander, narrowly missing each time.

"Nothing we do seems to do anything…" Luna said, worried. "Wait a minute…"

She remembered what the PokéDex said. "-It walks in the direction of sounds it hears, but if the sounds cease, it panics and topples over."

Luna smiled and looked around, seeing the rocks that had been fired as she searched for one that broke just right. "Charmander, grab this rock over here!"

"What's she doing?" Nat asked, watching carefully.

Charmander made it's way over to the rock that Luna had pointed out and picket it up, looking at her confused. "Now, get in close to Roggenrola!"

Charmander nodded and maneuvered it's way over to the small rock-type, but Charmander was hit by one of the rocks it was firing.

"Charmander!" He stood back up and made it's way toward Roggenrola. "That's the spirit, Charmander!"

"That's one resilient Charmander to take a hit like that." Nat said, surprised.

Luna smiled. "Alright, Charmander, go in to tackle it!"

Charmander ran forward. "Roggenrola, Rock Blast it!" Brock said.

"Now, jump over it, Charmander!" Luna shouted. Charmander leaped over the Rock Blast and Roggenrola. "Alright, jam that rock right in it's ear!"

Charmander shoved the rock into the hole on the front of it, managing to get it stuck. Roggenrola turned from side to side attempting to get the rock out, since it couldn't hear anything.

"Roggenrola!" Brock shouted.

Luna smiled. "Alright, Charmander, get up right behind Roggenrola and use Flamethrower!"

As told, Charmander landed directly behind Roggenrola and let out a stream of fire at close range. "No, Roggenrola!"

"Roggenrola is unable to battle!" An officiator said.

"We did it, Charmander!" Luna shouted, excitedly.

Brock smiled, returning Roggenrola to the ball, the rock that was stuck in it's ear falling to the ground. "Great job, Roggenrola. Not bad, Luna. I'd expect nothing less from you. But this next one won't be so easy to take on. I choose you, Rockruff!"

Rockruff came out of the ball, giving off a howl. "Ah, it's a puppy!" Luna said, pulling out her PokéDex.

"Rockruff, the Puppy Pokémon." The Dex said.

"Aw, it's even called the Puppy Pokémon." She said, smiling.

"Rockruff have lived with humans since ancient times. It's considered to be a good Pokémon for beginners because of its friendliness, but its disposition grows rougher as it grows can sense when its Trainer is in the dumps and will stick close by its Trainer's side."

Luna nodded, putting the Dex away. "Alright, Charmander, after this one we win! We can do this!"

Brock smiled. "Rockruff, Take Down attack!"

Rockruff ran forward at Charmander. "Charmander, dodge it!"

Luna was too late, Rockruff was too fast and crashed into Charmander. "Charmander, get up and use Scratch!"

Charmander quickly got up and ran toward Rockruff, attempting to scratch it. Rockruff turned it's head, allowing Charmander to hit the stones on Rockruff's neck.

"Char?"

Rockruff took advantage of Charmander's surprise and bit his hand.

"Charmander, are you okay?" Luna asked.

Charmander shook it's hand, but nodded. "Go in for another Scratch attack and don't let up!" Luna said, sending Charmander into battle again.

Charmander's claws kept hitting the stones on Rockruff's neck, still dealing minimal damage, if any. "Rockruff, Tackle attack!"

Rockruff tackled, Charmander, knocking it back again. However, Charmander continued to come at Rockruff, continuing to scratch at it.

"What are you doing?" Nat asked.

Luna smiled. "Just wait. I know Charmander will come through."

Charmander's scratches continued, though Rockruff's evasion began to lessen.

"That's it, Charmander! Now, hit even harder!" She said, excitedly.

Charmander started striking harder, his claws beginning to glow a bit. As the hits got harder, Rockruff's defense against them lowered more and more.

"What the… that's…"

"Alright, Charmander, Metal Claw!" Luna shouted.

Charmander's claws glowed even more and the strikes to Rockruff became more intense, knocking Rockruff away.

"So that's what she's been practicing over night…" Nat said, smiling. "She did have a plan after all."

"Rockruff, can you stand?" Brock asked, as the puppy Pokémon pulled itself to it's feet. "Atta boy. Alright, Rockruff, go, use Rock Tomb!"

Rocks began falling all around Charmander. "Dodge it, Charmander!"

Charmander managed to dodge a couple of Rock Tombs, but eventually one of the attacks hit it's mark. "Oh no. Charmander!" Luna shouted.

"Charmander is unable to battle!" The officiator said.

Brock smiled. "Great job, Rockruff!" Rockruff gave a happy bark.

Luna returned Charmander to his ball. "That was awesome, Charmander. Thank you. Now then, it's time to win this thing. Combee, I choose you!" She said, tossing the ball and sending Combee into the battle.

"A Combee, huh. A female one too." Brock said, smiling.

Nat sighed. "She's at a complete disadvantage against that Rockruff." She said, worried.

"Alright, Combee, let's do this. Use your Gust attack!" Luna ordered.

Combee flapped it's wings and created a surprisingly large gust of wind at Rockruff.

"Rockruff, stand your ground!" Brock said, the attack hitting it head-on. "Now, use Rock Throw!"

Rocks began to fall all around Combee. "Combee, dodge it and try to get in close to Rockruff!"

Combee smiled and flew around the several Rock Throw attacks coming from Rockruff, but due to being tired out by Charmander, Rockruff couldn't keep up.

Combee crashed into Rockruff before flying backward, staying low to the ground. "That was great, Combee! Let's try that again!"

"Rockruff, dodge it!" Rockruff jumped up, leaping over Combee's attack. "Now, Rock Blast!" Rockruff fired a series of rocks ar Combee, though it was also slowed by Rockruff having been tired out.

Combee tried to tackle Rockruff a few more times without success. "Come on, Luna, think…" She said, watching the continued failed tackle attacks. "Every time we try to get in close, it just jumps over… that's it!"

Combee missed another tackle. "Combee, tackle attack one more time!"

"What are you planning, Luna?" Brock said, smiling. "Rockruff, dodge it again!"

Rockruff jumped up and over Combee again. "Alright, Combee, fly up!"

Combee suddenly went upward, catching Rockruff and lifting it up into the air. "Rockruff, Bite!"

Rockruff nodded and bit down on Combee, which caused it to wince a bit, but continued climbing.

"That's it, Combee. Take it up nice and high!" Luna said, smiling. Combee reached the top of the Gym, Rockruff still having it's teeth in Combee. "Now, use Sweet Scent!" Combee let out a honey-like aroma, causing Rockruff to relax and let go. "Alright, Combee, it's time! Dive!"

Combee swiftly turned itself upside down and slammed down into the ground, Rockruff taking the hit.

"Ah! Rockruff!"

"Rockruff is unable to battle. The winner is Luna from Pallet Town!"

Luna smiled. "We did it! We won! I knew you could do it Combee!"

Nat smiled and ran over to Luna. "That was amazing, Luna!"

Luna smiled. "It really was."

Brock came over to the two girls and smiled. "Reminded me of the old days."

"The old days?" Nat said, confused.

Brock nodded. "Ash battles the same way that Luna does. She's probably picked it up watching him battle. But I still remember seeing him while he was developing that battle style." He looked over to Luna. "You did great, Luna. After you're done with the League Competition, I wouldn't mind taking you on with Steelix and Golem."

"You really mean it, Uncle Brock?" Luna said smiling.

"Oh, I thought it was odd that you didn't use those. So were you going easy on her?" Nat asked.

Brock shook his head. "I wasn't going easy, I was playing fair. The role of a Gym Leader isn't to defeat their challengers. It's to test their skills and see if they have what it takes to win. And Luna showed she has that skill. Here, Luna, this is yours." He said, holding his hand out.

Luna smiled. "I did it." She said, smiling. "I won the Boulder Badge! Oh, I should see if Charmander's doing any better." She said, sending Charmander out, who seemed tired, but otherwise seemed alright now. "Charmander, we won! Look, this is our badge!"

Nat smiled, watching her new friend go on and on to Combee and Charmander about how amazing they are. "So, you're traveling together, right?" Brock said, with a smile.

"Huh? Well, we only just met a couple days ago… but honestly, I'd love to tag along with her." She said, smiling. "She's a really good person and I can tell she's going to be a great Pokémon Trainer." She nodded. "I want to be there to see that happen."

Brock laughed a bit. "Well, watch after her alright? You might not know it yet, but she does have a pretty fiery temper and can sometimes act without thinking. She gets those traits from her parents." He smiled, remembering their adventures through Kanto and Johto together.

Nat smirked. "Oh please. Honestly, she'll probably be the one that has to watch me."

He smiled. "Well then, keep an eye on each other."

Nat nodded. "You can count on me."

Back at the Pokémon Center, Luna had gone off to call her parents again.

"And then I had Combee lift Rockruff up in the air and then boom! She slammed it right into the ground!" Luna said, excitedly.

"That's awesome! Congratulations, Luna!" Ash said, happily.

Misty giggled. "And on your first try too."

Luna nodded. "Yeah. I just knew my Pokémon could do it. I just did what you always told me. I believed in my Pokémon and they pulled through for me." Her parents smiled proudly.

Nat smiled, standing against the wall as she watched Luna talk.

"Oh, I almost forgot, I have a friend who wanted to ask you a question." Luna said. "Hey, Nat, come here."

Nat looked somewhat embarrassed. "Uh… what? Wait, you want me to ask now?"

Luna nodded. "Sure, why not?"

Nat slowly came over to the video phone. "Uh, h-hello there."

Misty smiled. "So, you're friends with our daughter?"

Nat nodded. "Uh, yeah. We met in the Viridian Forest and she overheard me training my Seel for my Pokémon Contests." She said, a bit awkwardly.

Misty smiled. "Oh, you have a Seel? Can I see it?"

"Well, it's playing around in the Pokémon Center's PokéPool right now, but maybe another time." Nat said, feeling somewhat bad about it.

Misty nodded. "Sure thing."

"So, you're a Pokémon Coordinator, huh?" Ash asked.

Nat nodded. "Uh-huh. Ever since I was a little girl, I've always watched Pokémon Contests with my family. I thought it was amazing to see the presentation each Coordinator and their Pokémon were and to see such powerful Pokémon show just how beautiful and elegant a battle can truly be, it was just so incredible to me."

Ash smiled. "Well, I wish you luck on your Pokémon Contests."

Nat nodded. "Oh, right, my question! Uh, my friend Luna… I guess she's your daughter… whatever. Luna says you know May Maple?"

Ash nodded. "We sure do."

"Why? Do you want to talk to her?" Misty asked.

Nat blushed. "Huh? Uh, w-well I… that would be amazing, but would that be okay?"

Misty nodded. "Of course it's okay."

"Oh, actually… hang on a sec!" Ash said, leaving the screen.

Nat and Luna looked at each other, confused. After a minute, they heard another voice.

"It's not May, but I do have someone else here who could probably help you out." Ash said. "You don't mind, right?" He asked, looking at the person off screen.

"Oh, it's no problem. I'm happy to help."

Misty smiled. "Hey, I'll let you talk, alright. Luna, your dad and I love you so much and we're so proud of your first Gym win."

Luna nodded. "I love you guys too."

"Luna won her first Gym battle!" The voice shouted. A girl with dark blue hair sat in front of the camera. "Luna is that true? That's amazing!"

Luna smiled. "Isn't it?"

"Wait a minute, I know you." Nat said, surprised.

The girl smiled. "Ah, a fan, huh?"

"Well, actually, I…" Nat said, awkwardly.

The girl giggled. "I'm kidding. My name's Dawn. I hear that you're a Pokémon Coordinator."

Nat nodded. "Yeah, I am. I mean, I haven't been in my first contest yet, but… it's what I want to do."

Dawn smiled. "That's great."

"Aunt Dawn, what are you doing there? I thought you were competing in the Unova Region." Luna asked.

"Oh, I got my fifth ribbon and decided to take some time to visit your parents for a bit." She explained. "It's a little bit until the Grand Festival, so I figured I'd take a short break. Though I'll probably be training with your parents for a bit. So I guess it's not really much of a break."

Luna giggled. "Well, good luck. Sorry I won't be able to make it this time."

"That's fine. You've got your own thing to do. Good luck in the Indigo League, Luna." Dawn said, smiling. "So, what's your name?" She asked, shifting her focus onto Nat.

"Huh? Uh, I'm Nat."

Dawm smiled. "Well, Nat, I wish you luck with your Contest in Pewter City tomorrow. Do you want some advice for your first contest? I'd be happy to help if I can." She said, happily.

Nat smiled. "Sure. That would actually be really nice. But is that really okay? I don't want to cause you any trouble."

Dawn smiled. "Oh, no need to worry about that."

"When people say that's when I usually worry the most…" Nat said, quietly.

"Why does everyone say that around me?" Dawn asked, a bit confused.

Luna smiled. "I'll just leave you to your talk." She said, standing up and walking away.

Dawn smiled. "Alright, so first do you have any questions?"

Nat nodded. "Yeah, actually. So first off…"

Dawn told Nat all about her Pokémon Contest experiences and gave her advice on what to do.

{[( So, as it turns out, writing battles is difficult. Anyway, I'm going to hopefully be able to write more, since this is actually a really fun project to work on. I'll probably write a prequel story too, telling how I would have had the ending of the anime go and have if flow right into Chapter 1.)]}


	5. The Spark of a Rivalry!

{[( Never written a Pokémon Contest before, so this should be interesting.)]}

"Alright, you're all registered to compete in today's Contest." Nurse Joy said, smiling and handing Nat a case. "You can use that to carry your ribbons."

"Thank you." Nat said, smiling. "Alright, Luna. Wish me luck."

Luna nodded. "You'll do great, Nat. By the way, how was your talk with Dawn last night?"

"She was awesome. We just talked about contests and stuff. Turns out she's a huge fan of Marina too." She said, happily.

She gave Nat a smile. "I told you she was great."

Nat nodded. "You were right. Anyway, I'd better get going to the Contest Hall. I'll see you later."

"You've got this, Nat." Luna said, before her friend walked off. Luna sighed, wondering what she should do until the Contest starts.

Nat got backstage and took a deep breath. "Come on out, Seel." She said, her Seel appearing out of the ball. "Seel, this is the real thing, alright? Let's really get out there and knock this thing out." Seel clapped happily, making Nat giggle. "Keep that hype going, Seel."

"A Seel, huh?" Someone said, coming up behind her.

Nat turned around. "Uh, yeah." She said with a smile. "Seel here's been my partner for a while now."

The person she was talking to was a girl with long black hair, tied into a braid which fell in front of her left shoulder and tied with a red thread. She also wore a white collared shirt and a dark blue sweater over it with a black skirt. Her eyes were a deep blue color. "I see. It looks like you've taken good care of it." She said, kneeling down and petting it's head. "Well behaved too."

Nat nodded. "Seel really likes meeting new people. I don't think there's been a single person that it didn't like."

"Is that so?" The girl said, smiling. "My name is Aika. I'm going to be one of your opponents here, today."

Nat smiled. "My name's Nat. It's nice to meet you."

The two girls went over to a snack table, where there was food for both the Coordinators and their Pokémon.

"So, is this your first Pokémon contest?" Aika asked.

Nat nodded. "Yeah, how'd you know?"

"All newcomers have this aura to them." She said, smiling. "So is Seel your only Pokémon?"

Nat shook her head. "I've got three. But since Seel is only going to be competing during the Presentation Stage, I won't need to worry. I don't want to spoil the surprise for everyone after all."

Aika smiled. "That's pretty smart of you. I suppose, in that case, I should show you my Presentation Stage Pokémon." She said, pulling out a ball. "Okay, Chikorita, come on out."

Chikorita came out of it's ball and looked around happily. "Chiko?"

"Ah, a Chikorita, huh? Wait a minute… it looks a little different… is she okay?" Nat asked, concerned.

Aika nodded. "She's fine. She's just a different color than most Chikorita."

"Oh." Nat said, smiling. "Well she's beautiful. Her colors remind me of the color leaves turn in the Autumn."

Aika smiled. "I thought the same thing. Chikorita doesn't really like battles, but she loves performing for a crowd, so I thought this would be perfect."

"Oh, I see. Have you ever thought of doing Pokémon Showcases?" Nat asked.

Aika nodded. "Pokémon Showcases?"

Nat nodded. "As far as I know, they only have them in the Kalos Region. But I think it's something that your Chikorita would probably really like."

Aika smiled. "I'll have to look into them, I suppose."

Outside the Contest Hall, Luna was wandering around, waiting for people to be allowed inside the building. "Excuse me, Miss?" A boy asked, coming up to Luna.

"Yes? Ah! It's you!" Luna said, smiling.

Ryan laughed a bit. "Glad to see you still remember me." He said, with a smile.

Luna nodded. "Of course I remember you. How's your Poochyena doing?" She asked.

"Poochyena's doing great. After we went home, I took your advice and got some hard treats and toys for her to chew on." Ryan said, pulling out a Poké Ball. "She still bets kind of bitey when she's feeling playful, but aside from that she's gotten a lot better."

Luna smiled. "That's great. Is she in that Poké Ball?" Luna asked.

Ryan nodded. "Come on out, Poochyena." He said as Poochyena came out of the ball and let out a happy bark. "Poochyena, look who it is."

Poochyena turned around, looking at Luna before running over to her and leaping up into her arms, licking her excitedly.

Luna giggled. "It's great to see you too, Poochyena."

After a minute, Luna put Poochyena on the ground and the two started to catch up with each other.

"So you already won your first Gym Badge?" He asked, surprised. "You didn't waste any time, did you?"

Luna smiled. "Well, I wanted to get my battle out of the way to cheer on Nat today."

Ryan smiled. "So, I'm guessing you two are traveling together?"

She nodded. "At least, I'm pretty sure we are."

"Well then, I hope you don't mind my intrusion, but I'd like to take you up on your offer to travel around with you." He said.

Luna smiled. "Wait, really?"

Ryan nodded. "Yeah. I wasn't really sure about it when you asked me at first, but after I got home I kept thinking about your offer. I still don't really know what I want out of a Pokémon Journey… but I thought if I went with you, maybe I could find out." He said, smiling.

Luna nodded. "Yeah. I'll do everything I can to help you figure out what you're looking for."

Ryan smiled. "Thanks. So, when does your friend's Contest start?"

"They should be opening up to start seating in a few minutes." Luna said, looking over to the security guards at the front doors.

Backstage, Luna and Aika carried on in their conversation.

"That's a really cute tie, Nat." Aika said, smiling. "It looks great on you."

Nat smiled. "Thanks, it was a gift from a friend. I actually only just got it yesterday." She said, stroking it.

"Well your friend has excellent taste." Aika said.

The P.A. System came on in the backstage area. "Attention, Coordinators. The Contest will begin in 20 minutes. Will Entrant Number 1 please come to the Green Room?"

"Well, I guess that's me." Aika said, sighing.

Nat looked at her, somewhat surprised. "Wait, you're up first?"

Aika nodded. "I registered for this contest in advance. I prefer to go first, otherwise my nerves can sometimes get the better of me." She said, a bit awkwardly.

Nat smiled. "Well, looks like we'll be bookending this thing then. I'm up last, so I get to feel all the nerves." She said, laughing a bit. "Good luck."

Aika nodded. "Thanks. I'll see you after."

In the audience, both Luna and Ryan had found somewhere to sit. It was up near the front so Luna could be there to cheer as loud as she could.

"So, your friend is up last?" Ryan asked.

Luna nodded. "Yeah. But like a good meal, the last bite is always the best."

"I've never heard that saying before." Ryan said, a bit confused.

"Really? My dad says that all the time." Luna replied.

Ryan smiled. "Your dad seems like he's a pretty interesting guy."

The lights shut off and a presenter appeared in front of everyone on stage. "Greetings Pokéfans! Welcome to this year's Pewter City Pokémon Contest!" Everyone applauded and the man went on to explain the rules of the contest.

"Hey, I thought Coordinators had to dress up for Pokémon Contests." Ryan said, somewhat confused.

Luna nodded. "In other regions, like Sinnoh, yeah. But here they don't."

The man then went on to introduce the judges, two of which were representatives of Kanto's branch of the Pokémon Contest Company and one being the Pewter City Nurse Joy.

"Now, please welcome our first Coordinator. From Cinnabar Island, Aiko!"

Aiko ran out onto the stage. "Chikorita, spotlight!" She said, tossing the ball in the air.

Chikorita appeared in the air, letting out a happy cry. "You know what to do!" Chikorita spread Sweet Scent and used Petal Dance, causing a beautiful blend of pink petals with a pleasant aroma to spread through the room. Accompanied with the slight sparkle that came from her when she came out of the ball.

"Whoa, a Chikorita!" Ryan said, surprised.

Luna nodded. "But there's something different about it's colors." She said, smiling. "It reminds me of Dad's Noctowl."

"Oh yeah, he has that odd colored Noctowl, doesn't he?" Ryan said, remembering watching one of his battles on t.v.

"What a beautiful performance! Let's see what the judges have to say!" The judges all gave the performance an 8.5/10.

"It was an above average performance overall, but what really caught our attention was your Chikorita's unique appearance." Joy said.

Aika smiled and walked off the stage so the next Coordinator could go on.

"That was great, Aika!" Nat said, coming over to her. "You really highlighted your Chikorita's beauty."

Aika smiled. "Thank you, Nat."

Chikorita looked up at Nat smiling. "Chiko!"

Nat knelt down. "You really are a pretty little thing." She said, petting the leaf on her head.

After everyone else had gone, it was finally Nat's turn to go on.

"And now, our final Coordinator. Making her Pokémon Contest debut, Nat from New Bark Town!"

Nat came out onto the stage and seemingly froze up. She was so sure of herself when she entered the Contest today, but now that when was actually in front of everyone and the last one up, the pressure was getting to her.

"Nat!" Luna shouted, calling her attention. "Nat, you can do this!"

"Luna?" Nat said, smiling.

She closed her eyes, composing herself. "You've got this, Nat." She said, psyching herself up. "You've practiced for this. It's just like Dawn said last night. There's no need to worry." She lifted Seel's Poké Ball up and smiled at it, nodding. "Let's give it our best."

Nat tossed the ball in the air. "It's showtime!" Seel appeared out of the ball and without a single command, Seel blew bubbles up in the air and quickly froze them with it's Powder Snow. After landing on the ground, Seel managed to catch each frozen bubble and began to juggle them. "Alright, Seel, you're doing great, now toss them up and give this crowd a nice big finish!" Seel jumped up, flipping in the air and slapping the bubbles upward before firing a Swift attack upward, hitting all of the bubbles with stars, creating the illusion that they were exploding into small ice crystals. Seel then landed, standing upright and clapping as the small crystals elegantly floated down around it.

The judges gave her performance an 8/10.

Nat walked backstage again, letting out a sigh of relief. "We did it, Seel. There's no way we didn't make it through to the next round with that score." She said, holding her hand out to it. Seel began clapping again. "I was more asking for a high five, but I guess that works too."

"Nat." Aika said, coming over to her. "That was great. Was this really your first time in a Pokémon Contest?"

Nat nodded. "Yeah."

Aika placed her hands on her hips, smiling. "Well, I'm impressed. I've never seen a first timer do something like that. And to get an 8 too… you've got a natural talent for contests."

Nat shook her head. "You give me too much credit. That was nothing compared to experienced Coordinators."

Aika shrugged. "You're gonna be one soon enough, if you keep putting on performances like that."

"Oh stop. Oh, hey, during the intermission, do you think I could go talk to a friend of mine in the crowd real quick?" Nat asked.

Aika nodded. "I don't see why not. Just be back before the Battle Stage begins. You'll be disqualified if you're not back in time."

Nat nodded. "No need to worry." She said, before covering her mouth. "I guess I was talking to her too much last night…" She said, quietly before walking out the door.

Luna smiled, happy that her friend had gotten through to the next round. "I knew she could do it."

"Your friend and her Seel are really talented." Ryan said, smiling. "I've never been to a live Pokémon Contest before. They're way more interesting in person."

"Well I'm glad you're enjoying the show." Nat said, approaching the two.

Luna smiled. "Nat! You and Seel were awesome!"

Ryan nodded. "You two seemed pretty in sync. You've trained it well."

"You say that, but you don't sound like you know what you're saying." Nat said.

Ryan blushed. "Huh? Well, I um…" He didn't know anything about training pokémon, but thought it was the right thing to say. "Still though, you two seem like a great team. How'd you end up getting a Seel in New Bark Town, anyway?"

"My grandmother lives in Cianwood City and occasionally Seel show up on the shores there. A little one happened to wander into her house when I was visiting once and it just kind of decided it liked me." Nat explained. "Though, it seems like Seel just likes everyone."

"Hey, isn't that the girl with the Seel?" A woman asked.

Another one turned around. "Huh? I think so."

The first girl groaned. "I can't believe they gave an 8 for that thing. It's just so dumb looking."

The other girl laughed. "I know, right? There's no way that thing is getting through the battle rounds."

Nat cleared her throat, calling the two girls' attention. "As a matter of fact, Seel won't be the one battling in the coming rounds, but if you'd like I can show you just how wrong you are right now." She said, tossing Seel's Poké Ball up and down.

The first girl looked a bit nervous, seeing how confident Nat seemed to be. "I would, but… you only have five more minutes before you have to be backstage again."

Nat shrugged. "Eh, this won't take long. My Seel will crush whatever you have in a matter of seconds." She said, passively. "So, are we doing this or what?"

The second girl looked nervous. "Uh… we don't have our pokémon with us right now, so…"

"Oh, well that's a shame." Nat said. "You know, it's not wise to make fun of other peoples' pokémon when you don't have any of your own. Next time you do it, you might make someone or their pokémon really angry and end up getting hurt." The two girls moved away.

Nat sighed, putting Seel's Poké Ball away.

"That was awesome." Ryan said, smiling.

Luna smiled. "If you didn't say something I was going to."

Nat smiled. "Thanks, Luna, but you've done a lot for me already. Anyway, I should get backstage again. It was nice to meet you… uh… guy."

"My name's Ryan." He said, awkwardly.

Nat nodded. "Right."

As it turned out, only four people got through to the Battle Stage. Aika won hers already, but Nat was busy getting ready for her battle and so she missed the battle. Now Nat was up against a boy named Jon.

"This will be a 1 on 1 battle with a 5 minute time limit. If either Coordinator's pokémon is unable to battle or their points go below the designated line, they will lose this round. Are the Coordinators ready?" Said Nurse Joy, acting as an officiator for the match.

Nat nodded. "I'm ready. How about you, Jon?"

Jon nodded. "Good luck to you." He said, smirking.

Nurse Joy nodded. "Then let the match begin."

Jon smirked. "Alright, here we go. I choose Murkrow!" He said, Murkrow coming out of it's ball onto the field.

Nat smirked as well. "Oh, Jon, I was hoping you weren't going easy mode on me. Mareep, it's showtime!"

Mareep came out of it's ball as well.

"What the?" Ryan said, surprised. "Its that Mareep's wool pink?"

"Alright, Murkrow, use your Peck attack, now!" Jon shouted, Murkrow rushing in to attack.

"Mareep, do your thing!" Nat said, simply.

Mareep, without a moment of delay used Double Team, forming what looked like a ring of light pink Mareep all around Murkrow, bringing the attack to a stop and causing Jon to lose points.

"Perfect. Now, Mareep, hop over Murkrow!" Nat shouted.

Mareep began leaping over Murkrow, but as Double Team was still in effect, it looked as if multiple Mareep were constantly jumping over Murkrow, confusing it even more and causing Jon's points to fall again.

"This isn't fair! You're not even fighting!" Jon shouted.

Nat smirked. "Oh you want me to attack? Alright then. Mareep, Tackle."

Mareep, in her Double Team, tackled Murkrow over and over, causing Jon's points to fall even more.

"Murkrow!"

"Alright, Mareep. Discharge." Nat said.

Mareep let out a stream of electricity into the confused Murkrow.

"Murkrow is unable to battle. The winner of this Battle Stage is Nat!" The announcer said.

Ryan looked surprised. "Wow, I didn't think Nat would be such a strong battler right off the bat like that."

"Yeah, I didn't either." Luna said.

Nat walked backstage with Jon.

"You're really good. Is this really your first Pokémon Contest?" Jon asked.

Nat gave him a nod. "It is. But it's far from my first time battling, especially with Mareep. No hard feelings, right?"

Jon smiled. "Oh of course not. You were just in the moment, I can respect that. Anyway, I have to say, you've trained your Mareep well. I've never seen a Mareep that fast before." He said, petting it. "And you've kept her wool so soft. How do you do it?"

"Well, actually I just-" Nat began to answer.

"Nat!" Aika shouted, coming over to her. "Your secret battler was a Mareep?" She said, excitedly. "And it's a pink one too! Hey wait…" She said, confused. "How come you thought Chikorita might have been sick because of her color, but you had a pink Mareep?"

Nat thought about it. "I guess I'm just so used to my Mareep being pink, I forgot that they aren't all pink."

Aika nodded. "Well, your Mareep is super cute. It's too bad I'm going to have to beat her in a battle."

"We're not gonna make it easy for you." Nat said, with a smile.

After a few minutes, the two girls went out to the battlefield.

"Are you ready for this Nat? I won't be going easy on you." Aika said, smiling.

Nat nodded. "I don't want you to. I'm coming at you with everything I've got, so I suggest you do the same."

Aika nodded. "Alright then. Smoochum, spotlight!"

"Mareep, it's showtime!" Nat shouted.

The two pokémon came out onto the field and the clock started running.

"Alright Smoochum, Ice Beam!" Aika shouted, the attack landing and lowering Nat's points right away.

"Mareep, Double Team!" Nat called. Mareep did the same thing as before.

Aika smirked. "That trick won't work twice in the same Contest. Smoochum, use Ice Beam on Mareep!"

At first Aika's points lowered, due to her miss, but Nat's lowered again when Mareep ended up slipping on the ice left behind by the attack.

"Mareep!" Nat shouted.

Aika smiled. "Now, Smoochum, Heart Stamp!" Smoochum ran over to Mareep and planted it's lips on Mareep, before being shocked by it's fleece. "Smoochum? What happened?"

Nat smirked. "What happened is your Smoochum got zapped. Mareep's fleece carries tons of static electricity in it. Especially when in battle."

Aika looked up at the points, hers just a bit lower than Nat's. "Alright then, Smoochum, Confusion!"

Mareep suddenly began floating in the air, clearly being damaged by the attack as it lifted her. "Mareep!" Nat shouted. "Try to use your Discharge!" Mareep tried to, but all she could get going were a few blue sparks. Nat looked over to the board, seeing that the points for her were dropping more and more. "Mareep, come on! I know you can do it!" Mareep closed it's eyes, concentrating. After a moment, Mareep began to have blue sparks shoot around all over it's wool, and after that a blue bolt of lightning hit Aika's Smoochum.

Nat smiled. "Alright, Mareep!" She said, smiling "Alright, tackle it, Mareep!"

Mareep ran up to Smoochum, missing it's tackle attack twice before finally hitting Smoochum from behind. "Alright, Mareep, finish this with-"

"The battle is over!" the announcer shouted.

"What?" Nat asked. "What are you talking about? We still have plenty of time left… what?" She said, looking at the board. There was, indeed, plenty of time, but her points had gone down below the line. "But how?... Those last two attacks." She said. "I lost enough when her Smoochum had Mareep up in the air and when I missed those last two Tackle attacks…"

Luna looked at Nat, sadly. "Nat…"

After the contest was over and the ribbon was awarded to Aika, Nat left and went to a park that was near the Pewter Gym.

"Nat!" Luna said. "There you are. We've been looking everywhere for you." She said.

Nat looked up at Luna, surprised. "You were looking for me? Why?"

Luna came over to her. "Because, you're my friend, silly." She said with a smile.

Nat smiled. "Thanks Luna."

Luna nodded. "Hey, uh… I'm sorry you lost the contest today."

Nat looked down and nodded. "Me too. I can't believe I slipped up like that…" She said, looking at Mareep's Poké Ball. "I let Mareep down."

"You didn't let Mareep down, Nat." Aika said, coming over to the two girls.

Nat looked at her surprised. "Aika? What are you doing here?"

Aika smiled. "You and Mareep did great. If it weren't for that second Tackle missing, I would have lost for sure. I just got lucky is all. Besides, this was your first Pokémon Contest and you made it to the final round. Now many of the top Pokémon Coordinators did that in their first contest. I told you you have a natural talent for this."

Nat smiled a bit. "Well… I guess you're right. I should be happy I got as far as I did."

Aika nodded. "Not only that, but your Mareep did a great job in that battle. For an electric type, Mareep is slow, so for it to use Double Team like that… it must really care for you."

Nat smiled and nodded. "Yeah. Mareep goes all out for me, no matter what. I guess she forgot that Contest Battles work differently than normal battles."

"Where did you learn to battle like that, anyway?" Luna asked.

Nat smiled. "Well, actually, back in Johto I did a few Gym battles. I beat Falkner and Bugsy with my Mareep." She said, pulling out her two badges. "I figured I may as well try it before I commit to Pokémon Contests, but I just wasn't really feeling it, to be honest. I decided to make a fresh start in Kanto as a Pokémon Coordinator."

"Why did you do Gym battles to begin with?" Aika asked.

"My family has a history of becoming powerful Pokémon Trainers and I wanted to try to follow that legacy… but I just can't push myself to do something I'm not passionate about." She shrugged. "Though if I told them that from the start they would've told me to follow what I want to do anyway."

Aika smiled. "Well, I'm glad you came around. You're gonna make a pretty good rival for me."

Nat nodded. "Wait a second. Did you just say rival?"

Aika nodded. "Yeah. After the presentation and battles you gave today, there's no way I could see you as anything but my rival."

Nad smiled. "Well, I suppose I'll have to live up to that role for you then." She said, confidently. "You really better not go easy on me now."

"Oh no!" Luna shouted. "I forgot to let Ryan know I found you."

Nat giggled. "Why don't you run off and get him."

Luna nodded. "Okay, but what about you?"

Nat looked over at Aika. "It may not be in the Contest now, but my rival and I have a battle to finish."

Aika smirked. "Yes we do."

Luna smiled. "Alright then. I'll be back soon. You've got this, Nat."

Nat nodded. "Thanks, Luna. Don't worry, this won't take long."

"Admitting defeat already, huh? At least you're mentally prepared." Aika said, confidently.

{[( Alright, not really sure about the way I ended this, since I feel like it needs another line or two, but I can't seem to get anything down that doesn't sound forced or pointless. I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter and I'm going to start working on chapter 8 now, so here goes something!)]}


	6. To Mt Moon and Back!

{[( Alright here goes! The adventure continues, now with a group of 3.)]}

"Alright, Combee, use Bug Bite!" Luna shouted, Combee flying forward and biting a Rattata.

"Rattata! Are you okay?" A youngster asked.

Ryan lifted his arm. "Rattata is unable to battle. The winner is Luna."

"We did it, Combee! We won again!" Luna shouted, excitedly running over and giving Combee a hug.

The youngster smiled. "Wow, miss. You're really strong."

Luna smiled. "Thank you, but it's Combee that did all the work."

The youngster nodded. "Well, I've gotta go now, but thank you for battling me." He said, running off.

Nat smiled. "Wow, Luna. You and your Combee are really starting to get strong."

Ryan nodded. "She's right. I've never seen a Combee get that strong."

Luna smiled. "That's because my Combee is special."

"So, where are we going, anyway?" Nat asked.

Luna pointed at a sign on the side of the path. "We're going to Mt. Moon. We'll cut through there and head over to the Cerulean City Gym. Maybe I'll see Sasha aga… Hey!" She shouted. "When we left the lab, she said we would battle when we saw each other again, but when we saw her at the Gym, she just walked away. I thought we had a deal." She said, annoyed. "Well then, next time I see her, I'm going to challenge her to a battle!"

"Hey, uh… who's Sasha?" Ryan asked.

"Oh, Sasha is Luna's rival." Nat replied. She then heard something moving around behind her. "Hey. What was that?"

"What was what?" Ryan asked, looking back.

Luna came over to them. "Do you think it could be a pokémon?"

"It was probably just the wind. Come on, let's keep going." Ryan said.

Luna nodded and continued down toward Mt. Moon. "Right."

Nat trailed a slight bit behind. "Mt. Moon… I've heard something about this place, I just don't remember what…" She said, quietly. She felt something brush against her leg, causing her to stop. "Huh? What was that?"

Nat looked down slowly, seeing something look back up at her.

"Ah! It's…" Nat said, causing the other two to turn around. "It's a Jigglypuff!" She said, smiling and picking it up.

"A Jigglypuff, huh?" Luna said, pulling out her PokéDex.

"Jigglypuff, the Balloon Pokémon. Jigglypuff possess a vocal range that exceeds 12 octaves, but each individual's singing skill depends on its own effort. When this Pokémon sings, it never pauses to breathe. If it is in a battle against an opponent that does not easily fall asleep, Jigglypuff cannot breathe, endangering its life."

Luna's eyes widened. "That's some dedication to your craft." She looked over to the Jigglypuff that Nat was holding. "Hey, it looks like it's holding something."

Ryan nodded. "Yeah. It looks kind of like a microphone."

"Microphone? Wait, is this… that same Jigglypuff?" Luna said, thinking back to the stories her parents told.

"Jiggly!" Jigglypuff jumped out of Nat's arms and held the microphone to her mouth.

Nat smiled. "It looks like it's gonna sing."

"No, don't let it sing!" Luna shouted.

Nat looked over at Luna confused. "Huh? But just look at it. Jigglypuff looks like it really wants to."

Ryan walked over to Jigglypuff and pulled the microphone away from it. "I don't really get it, but this should keep it from-" Before he could continue talking, Jigglypuff started hitting him with it's Double Slap attack, causing him to drop it. "Ow… hey, what'd you do that for?"

"You really have to ask that?" Nat said. "Jigglypuff, maybe this isn't the best place to sing. But hey, how's this?" She said, kneeling down. "If you help us get through Mt. Moon, we'll listen to your song."

"Puff puff?" Jigglypuff said, with it's eyes sparkling.

Nat nodded. "All the way through."

Jigglypuff nodded. "Jigglypuff-puff." Jigglypuff happily lead the three into the cave of Mt. Moon.

"So, why didn't you want Jigglypuff to sing back there, Luna?" Ryan asked, holding his cheek in pain a bit.

"Well, parents told me about a Jigglypuff that used to follow them around when they traveled together through Kanto and Johto. They said that when they found it it didn't know how to sing and they helped it learn… but it's song was so strong that it always put everyone to sleep." Luna explained.

Nat smiled. "I could use a Sing attack that powerful on my team."

Luna sighed. "Thing is, Jigglypuff doesn't know it's in attack, and so when everyone falls asleep it uncaps it's marker and draws on everyone's face."

"I see. So that's why you didn't want it to sing. But are you sure this is the same one?" Ryan asked.

Luna nodded. "That microphone it's holding is what made me remember."

Nat smiled. "I guess I'll have to catch it after it's performance at the end of Mt. Moon." She said.

Ryan looked a bit skeptically at her. "Are you sure you'll be able to do that?"

She nodded. "I have to. That Jigglypuff is too cute for me to let go."

"I'm pretty sure we'd run into it a lot either way." Luna said.

Nat nodded again. "I'm sure, but I want this Jigglypuff. Plus, it's clearly got some battle experience. If it had a trainer, it could learn not only how to control it's Sing attack and even teach it more attacks. She'd be great for Pokémon Contests."

"You're pretty set on this, huh?" Luna said, smiling. "Well, if you think you can do it, then go for it."

Ryan sighed. "There's no way you'll make it through a song that powerful."

"We'll just have to see, won't we. I'll just have Jigglypuff write 'Told you so' on your face." Nat said with a confident smile.

Ryan sighed and pulled out a Guide Book. "Looks like we'll be out of here pretty quick, with the route that Jigglypuff is taking us. Oh! Hey, before we go, we should try to see if we can find a Clefairy. They're pretty rare pokémon, but I think that would probably be a great pokémon for your contests, Nat."

Both Nat and Jigglypuff looked back at him, glaring a bit.

Ryan froze in place. "Uh… what? Did I say something wrong?"

"Yes you did." Nat said, turning to him.

"Puff puff puff." Jigglypuff said.

Ryan looked confused. "What? Do you not like Clefairy or something?"

Nat shook her head. "Oh no, it's not that I don't like Clefairy. I hate Clefairy."

Ryan looked shocked. "What? How can you love Jigglypuff so much, then?"

"How can you compare something as adorable as Jigglypuff to Clefairy? Jigglypuff is round and soft and it's got those beautiful big eyes." She replied.

Ryan nodded. "Yeah, but Clefairy's still cute, right?"

Luna looked it up in her PokéDex.

"Clefairy, the Fairy Pokémon. Because of its adorable nature, it is in high demand as a pet. However, it is rare and found only in limited areas."

"See, Nat." Ryan said. "Even the PokéDex says it's adorable."

"About as adorable as a Stunfisk." Nat deadpanned. Jigglypuff nodding in agreement. "Clefairy looks like it was punched in the face too many times and just keeps smiling."

Luna sighed. "Let's just keep going. There's no point in arguing."

"What do you think, Luna?" Nat asked. "You don't think Clefairy is cute, do you?"

"Well I, um…" Luna said, worried that she'd just gotten herself into something bad.

The ground began to shake a bit, causing the three to drop the subject. "Hey, did you feel that?" Ryan asked.

Nat nodded. "Yeah." Jigglypuff began running down one of the rocky corridors of the cave. "Wait, where are you going, Jigglypuff?" She asked, chasing it down the path.

"Nat, wait up! Come on, Ryan." Luna said, following after Nat.

Jigglypuff followed the path, stopping suddenly. "Jigglypuff?" Nat said, coming up behind her. "What the.. What is this?" Nat asked. In front of them was a large machine that appeared to be collecting Moon Stones. "What is this?... Huh?" Her eyes went to some glass tubes that had some pokémon in them. "What's going on here?..." Nat asked, angrily.

"What's up, Nat?" Ryan asked. "Hey, what's with all the Clefairy trapped in those tubes?"

"I don't know. But I don't like it." Nat said, angrily.

Ryan looked at her, a bit surprised. "You don't? I thought you didn't like Clefairy."

"I don't, but that doesn't mean they deserve to be shoved into glass tubes like that!" Nat shouted, offended by what he'd said.

Luna came around the corner. "No way…" She said. "Who could do such a…" Her eyes fell on a symbol that was on the machine. One that she'd heard about her whole life. "Team Rocket."

"Team Rocket?" Nat asked.

"Didn't they disband?" Ryan asked.

Luna nodded. "At least, that's what I thought. But that big red R… there's no mistaking it." She said, looking around. "Come on, we're letting those pokémon out."

Nat and Ryan nodded. "Right."

Inside of the machine, two people sat, making sure it continued to pick up all the Moon Stones it could mine and pick up whatever might come to try to stop them.

The girl had long, blue hair tied off into twin tails. "I can't believe how easy this was. Once we bring the boss all these Moon Stones and Clefairy, there's no way we won't get a promotion." She said, giggling.

The boy, who had short orange hair, nodded. "I mean, what the boss doesn't know won't hurt him, right? Maybe we can sell some of the Moon Stones. I'm sure they'd pick up a pretty penny since you can only get them here."

The girl nodded. "Sounds like a plan… huh?" She said, seeing Luna, Nat, and Ryan on a screen. "What the? Hey, you said no one would find us if we were this deep in Mt. Moon!"

"Well, I suppose 'no one' was kind of an unrealistic assumption." The boy said.

The girl groaned. "You idiot… come on. Let's get rid of these kids."

Luna ran over to the containers with the Clefairy inside. "Are you all okay?" She asked. The Clefairy seemed worried, but nodded. "Hang tight, we're gonna get you out of there!"

Suddenly, a vacuum like pipe came out and sucked Jigglypuff inside as well.

"Oh no, Jigglypuff!" Nat shouted.

"Just what do you think you're doing?" The blue haired girl asked.

Luna, Nat, and Ryan turned around. "Who are you?" Nat asked.

The girl giggled. "Prepare for trouble." She said, smirking.

"And make it double." The boy said.

Nat raised an eyebrow. "What are they doing?"

Luna shrugged. "My parents told me they do this sort of thing for some reason."

"Doesn't it seem kind of dumb, though? I mean while they're talking, we could just foil their plans." Nat questioned.

The two continued. "To infest the world with devastation!"

"To rule over every nation."

"To destroy the purity of truth and love."

"To extend our grasp to the stars above!"

"Bonny."

"Clyde."

"Team Rocket, blasting off at the speed of light!"

"Surrender now or prepare to fight!"

Bonny smirked. "Hey! What are you doing?"

Nat had picked up a large rock and was hitting the glass with it. "Well, you two were running your mouths, I just kind of decided to take action. Hey, Luna, help me with this."

Bonny groaned in annoyance. "You so do not ignore me! Get them, Grimer!"

Clyde smirked. "Beedrill, go!"

"A Grimer!" Ryan shouted, stepping back.

Luna and Nat looked at each other and nodded.

"Ryan, you keep trying to get the Clefairy out of there." Luna said. "Nat and I will handle these two."

Clyde chuckled. "Like a kid like you could beat us."

Luna glared. "We'll see. Alright, Charmander, let's go!"

"Mareep, go!" Nat shouted.

"Grimer, hit 'em with a Sludge attack!" Bonny shouted. Grimer spit sludge at the two pokemon, but they both managed to dodge it.

"Charmander, use Flamethrower on Beedrill!" Luna shouted.

"Dodge it, Beedrill!" Clyde ordered. "Now, Twinneedle!"

Beedrill, having dodged the Flamethrower, hit Mareep with it's twin stingers.

"Discharge, Mareep!" Nat shouted. At close range, Mareep sent out an it's Discharge attack, hitting Beedrill hard.

"Ah! Beedrill!" Clyde shouted.

Bonny groaned. "Grimer, use Sludge Bomb, now! Extinguish that Charmander!"

"Charmander, dig!" Luna shouted.

Charmander dug under ground at the last second.

Bonny smirked. "How cowardly. Running away by hiding underground."

"Mareep, Static Headbutt!" Nat shouted.

Mareep ran toward Grimer, making itself glow blue from the electricity. Mareep then slammed it's head directly into Grimer, knocking it back.

"Static Headbutt?" Luna asked.

Nat nodded. "Yeah. We developed that move when we beat Falkner in the Johto Region. It's not actually an attack, but that's what we decided to call it."

"Grimer, hit that Mareep with a Mud Slap." Bonny said, smirking as Grimer scored a direct hit. "Give it up, kiddies. You can't beat Team Rocket."

"Charmander, come up now!" Luna shouted.

Charmander came out from underground, knocking Grimer into the air and hitting it into Bonny.

"Beedrill, Poison Sting!" Clyde shouted.

"Mareep, Spark!" Electricity came out from Mareep and struck Beedrill. "Now, Tackle attack!" Mareep ran forward, tackling Beedrill into Clyde.

"Alright, I got it open!" Ryan shouted, having found a release switch.

He pressed it letting all of the Clefairy out of the tubes.

"Uh, Bonny… I don't know if I like this." Clyde said, worried as the Clefairy began to surround them.

"Oh please, what are these things going to do to us?" Bonny said.

Jigglypuff floated down in front of the entire group of Clefairy and together they all began to move their hands back and forth.

"What are they doing?" Luna asked.

"Ah! That's a Metronome attack!" She shouted.

Their fingertips began glowing and when they stopped, they all began to glow all over.

"What did it turn into?" Ryan asked.

"Charmander, return!" Luna shouted, quickly. "Nat, call back Mareep! It's turning into Explosion!"

Nat nodded, recalling Mareep. "Everyone get down!"

The three of them got low to the ground as the explosion finally happened. It blew a hole in the roof of the cave and tossed Clyde and Bonny out through the hole.

"Hey Bonny, what just happened?" Clyde asked.

"We just… lost." Bonny said. "Which means…"

"Team Rocket's blasting off!" They both shouted.

Nat lifted herself off the ground. "You know, I expected them to be a bit more difficult to take care of."

Luna nodded. "Well, Dad always said they were usually more of an annoyance than anything."

The Clefairy all came over to the three of them, smiling gratefully at them.

"What are you gonna do to me?..." Nat asked, worried.

Luna smiled. "Nat, I think they want to thank us."

Ryan nodded. "Looks like it."

The Clefairy gave each of them a Moon Stone and then went to go take the remaining Moon Stones somewhere else.

"Why did you think they would do something to you, Nat?" Ryan asked.

Nat sighed. "I don't want to get into that right now. Hey, where's Jigglypuff?"

"Puff!" Jigglypuff shouted, running over to her.

"Ah, there you are. Are you okay, Jigglypuff?" Nat asked.

"Puff!"

Luna smiled. "Glad to hear it."

Ryan smiled as well. "Well, I guess we should get back on the road to Cerulean City, huh?"

"Oh, right!" Luna said. "Jigglypuff, do you still know the way from here?"

Jigglypuff nodded and pointed before leading the way again.

After a long walk, they finally saw the light at the end.

"Look at that." Ryan said, smiling as they came out of Mt. Moon's cave.

Nat nodded. "It's Cerulean City."

Luna smiled brightly. "It's been awhile, Cerulean City. But Luna Ketchum's finally returned. And this time, she's getting a Cerulean Gym Badge."

"Jiggly jigglypuff."

Nat smiled. "Oh, that's right. I promised to listen to your song all the way through." She said, picking Jigglypuff up and placing her on top of a rock. "There. It's not the greatest stage, but it's yours."

Jigglypuff smiled, happily. "Puff puff."

Ryan felt a bit uneasy. "Are you sure about this, Nat?"

She nodded. "Of course I am. Now then, Jigglypuff… let's hear that beautiful song of yours."

Jigglypuff nodded and began singing. Around them, several pokémon fell out of trees or from the roof of the cave behind them, having fallen asleep to Jigglypuff's song.

"Wow you weren't kidding…" Ryan said, feeling sleepy. "This Jigglypuff's Sing attack really is powerful…"

Luna nodded. "Uh-huh… Mom and Dad weren't exaggerating after all…"

Nat stood firmly, smiling and keeping her eyes on Jigglypuff. She started to feel a little tired, but she fought it off. "Come on, Nat. Stay awake. You have to stay awake… for Jigglypuff." She said, forcing herself through it. "If I fall asleep, Jigglypuff will never let me catch it."

Finally, Jigglypuff's song was done. "Puff?" Jigglypuff looked all around, seeing all the pokémon and people asleep. It inflated with anger, but just before it could act, Jigglypuff heard something it hadn't before. Applause.

Nat was clapping energetically for Jigglypuff. "That was a beautiful song, Jigglypuff."

"Puff?" Jigglypuff said, with tears beginning to form in it's eyes, happy to see she kept her word.

Nat smiled. "Well then, Jigglypuff… now that I've listened to your song, will you hear out my request?" She asked. "Will you come with me? I want to be an amazing Pokémon Coordinator, and with your help, I think I'll be able to do it. So, please? Will you join me?"

Jigglypuff smiled and nodded. After all, this was the first person to ever make it through her song without falling asleep.

Nat smiled. "Great! Oh, but first…" Nat had Jigglypuff write "Told You So" on Ryan's face before pulling out a Moon Ball. "I got this from Kurt in the Johto Region. I hear it's supposed to be more comfy for pokémon that evolve using a Moon Stone. I thought it suited you."

Jigglypuff smiled and tapped the ball, letting itself be captured. Nat smiled. "Awesome. I just caught a Jigglypuff." She said, yawning. "Now then… I should wake up… the others…"

Nat walked over to a tree and sat down against it. "I guess… I could use a rest too…" She said, letting herself fall asleep.

{[( And so that ends chapter 6 and the introduction of Team Rocket. I'm not sure id Jessie and James have anything to do with this story, but I figured I'd keep the evil team to Team Rocket. And I'm aware I spelled Bonnie incorrectly, but I did that on purpose. Don't expect them in every single chapter, but they'll be recurring characters from now on.)]}


	7. The Queen Bee!

"So you really got through the whole song?" Luna asked, surprised.

Ryan pulled a towel away from his face. "You know, when you said you were gonna have Jigglypuff write this on my face, I didn't think you actually meant it."

Nat shrugged. "What can I say? I follow through on my promises." She said, smiling.

He sighed, having cleaned off the marker from his face. "So what do you think you'll do with her now?"

"Well, I think I'll start with teaching her the difference between a Sing attack and just singing. If she can learn to control that, I think it would be an amazing tool in battles." Nat said, still holding Jigglypuff's ball in her hand.

Luna smiled. "That sounds like an awesome idea."

Ryan sighed. "Hey, what's that over there?" He asked, pointing at something.

"Huh? Oh, they call that the Nugget Bridge. It's a bridge where you battle a bunch of trainers and at the end, if you beat all of them, you get a Nugget." Luna said, smiling. "You guys wanna give it a try?"

Ryan looked confused. "Huh? Why?"

Luna smiled. "I wanted to try to train up my Charmander and Combee more and pokémon respond better to training when battling other trainers' pokémon. Besides, I've heard there are some cool pokémon up that way, but to get to them we'll have to go through the Nugget Bridge."

Ryan looked a bit uneasy. "I don't know. Poochyena and I haven't ever battled before…"

Luna giggled. "Just leave it to me then."

"Oh no you don't." Nat said, smiling. "This is the perfect chance to train Jigglypuff."

Ryan sighed. "Well, alright, I guess. But let's go stop at the Pokémon Center first to heal up our pokémon and rest for a bit."

"Didn't you sleep enough, already?" Nat asked, teasingly.

"It's not like you didn't fall asleep too!" Ryan shouted.

She shrugged. "At least I made it through her song. For all you know, I only took a nap because I didn't want to leave you two behind."

The group went to the Pokémon Center as, despite Nat's teasing, the three of them and their pokémon did need a rest.

The three of them sat down together in a small dining area of the Pokémon Center.

"So what do you think Team Rocket were doing in Mt. Moon?" Ryan asked.

Luna shrugged. "I don't know, but it looked like that big machine was mining Moon Stones and sucking up any Clefairy that came near it. Clefairy tend to be pretty rare, so they probably figured they could sell them or something."

Nat nodded. "Well, I mean the Clefairy are rare and all, but Moon Stones are pretty much worthless. At the Poké Mart, you'd be lucky to get anything in exchange for them."

Ryan looked surprised. "Wait, they aren't worth anything? But can't they only be found here at Mt. Moon?" He asked.

Nat nodded "Yeah, but they can only evolve a few different pokémon."

Ryan nodded. "Yeah, but a Thunder Stone only evolves even less and people still pay a lot for those."

"Look, I don't decide the prices." Nat said.

Luna smiled. "So are you going to use the Moon Stone that the Clefairy gave you to evolve your Jigglypuff? It evolves into Wigglytuff, doesn't it?" She asked, pulling out the PokéDex.

"Wigglytuff, the the evolved form of Jigglypuff. Its fur is the ultimate in luxuriousness. Sleeping alongside a Wigglytuff is simply divine. Its body expands seemingly without end when it inhales."

"I'd like to cuddle a Wigglytuff." Luna said, smiling.

Nat shrugged. "That would be up to Jigglypuff. I don't think a pokémon should be forced to evolve if it doesn't want to. Jigglypuff knows I have the stone, so if she ever wants it, she knows where to find it."

Luna smiled. "That sounds like Pikachu."

"Oh that's right, your dad has a pikachu, huh?" Nat said.

Luna nodded. "Yup."

"Isn't that Luna?!" A voice shouted.

"Luna Ketchum? No way!" Another replied.

Ryan looked around, confused. "What was that?"

Luna shrugged. "I don't know."

"That has to be her! Just look, she's wearing that hat!"

Nat thought for a moment, putting everything together in her head.

Ryan looked as if he'd figured out what was happening. "Oh, I get it. They're fans of your dad, right?"

Nat sighed. "Well you aren't far off." She said, confusing him. "Think about it. Who is Luna's father?"

"Huh?" Ryan asked. "What kind of a question is that? Her father is Ash Ketchum."

Nat nodded. "And who is Ash Ketchum married to?"

"What's with the trivia questions? He's married to Misty, the former Gym Leader of Cerulean City." Ryan responded.

Nat nodded. "Correct again. And where are we, again?"

Ryan was going to answer, but realized what she'd been trying to say. "Uh… Luna? Do the people here know who you are?"

Luna nodded. "Everybody does. Why?"

At that moment, a massive group of people crowded around the three trainers, though they largely ignored Nat and Ryan.

"Luna, what's your mom like?" A girl asked, excitedly.

"Do you have a water pokémon too? Let me see it!" A boy shouted.

Another girl broke through. "Is it true? Can your mom really Mega Evolve Gyarados?"

Others continued asking questions, giving no time for Luna to respond.

Nat stood up on a nearby table and took in a deep breath. "EVERYONE SHUT UP!" She shouted, causing everyone to go quiet and turn to her. "I'm sorry, but Luna is trying to have a nice conversation with her friends. Now if you could all be good and not hammer her with questions, that would be just fantastic." She said, clearly annoyed.

"And who are you?" A girl asked.

"If you must know, my name is Nat, and I happen to be a friend of Luna's. That guy is too." Nat responded, pointing over to Ryan.

The girl's annoyed and confused expression changed to a large smile. "You're friends with Luna!?"

Nat saw half of the crowd turn around and rush over to her, causing her to brace herself as if they were going to tackle her off the table. Now it wasn't just Luna being hit with question after question. Nat was too.

"What are her parents like?" A boy asked.

Nat blushed. "Well I haven't actually…"

"Did you get to see Misty's Corsola?"

"No, not really. I just…" She attempted to answer.

"Is Luna more like her mom or her dad?"

Nat groaned as two more questions were thrown at her. "AH! Shut up! Just shut up!" She shouted, bringing the room to another silence. "Stop asking so many questions. It's annoying and I can't answer any of them if you constantly keep asking more before I can get a single word in."

The crowd looked conflicted. "Well you don't have to be so rude about it." One boy said.

Nat groaned again. "You really don't get it, do you?"

At that moment the tune telling them that their pokémon were fully healed came through the speakers.

"Hey, our pokémon are ready to go! Come on, let's go get them." Luna said, smiling and running through the crowd over to pick up her pokémon.

"Hey, Luna, wait up!" Nat shouted, seeing everyone in the crowd in her way. She looked around for another way through, and shrugged before leaping from table to table to get out.

"Hey!" Ryan shouted. "What about me?"

Nat looked back over at him. "I'll remember you, always, Richard." She said, almost sounding sincere about it, before running off to pick up her pokémon.

"My name is Ryan and you know it!" He shouted, annoyed. "Hey! Hey back here!"

The two girls made their way toward the Nugget Bridge.

"So, you want to tell me what happened back there?" Nat asked.

Luna gave a nervous laugh. "Yeah, sorry about that. My mom is considered the strongest Gym Leader that Cerulean City has ever had and since she's also married to a Champion and is still a really good battler… they get kind of crazy whenever anyone associated with my mom comes through town. Don't worry, they usually calm down after a while."

"So this isn't a new thing to you?" Nat asked. "Well now I feel bad for yelling at them."

Luna shook her head. "Don't. You didn't do anything wrong."

"Hey!" Ryan shouted, catching up to them, visibly annoyed.

Nat looked confused. "Where have you been?"

"Where have I- You just left me back there!" He shouted.

"Oh right… well, we knew you'd catch up, eventually." Nat said, smiling.

Luna nodded. "And Nat told me you said to go on without you."

"Oh she did?" Ryan said, glaring at her.

Nat laughed nervously. "Well, now that everyone's here, let's hit the Nugget Bridge."

The three of them stopped by the Poké Mart to pick up a few things before going up the bridge.

"All I'm saying is, that clerk did offer something for the Moon Stone." Ryan said.

Nat nodded. "Yeah, like a whole ten dollars. You can't even buy those useless Water Mail things with that little amount of money."

"At least he made an offer. I just wanted to see if they would." Ryan said, placing his Moon Stone back in his bag as they approached Nugget Bridge.

"So this is it." Luna said, a determined look on her face.

Nat smiled. "Let's go."

The three of them walked onto the bridge, walking over to the first trainer.

Nat smirked. "You there. My friend and I are here to challenge the Nugget Bridge."

The youngster shifted, awkwardly. "Yeah… about that… another girl just came through here and beat all of us…"

"Everyone? Seriously?" Nat asked, rather surprised.

The youngster nodded. "Yeah. We tried our best, but in the end we didn't stand a chance…" He said, walking passed them to go heal his pokémon.

"Are we sure we want to go this way?" Ryan asked. "What if we run into the person that beat that kid?"

Nat smiled. "Then we'll have to battle them."

Luna nodded. "Yeah!"

The three of them continued down the bridge. "I wonder who could've beaten all of these people in a row." Ryan said, surprised.

Luna nodded. "Whoever they are, they must be pretty good."

They came up to the end of the bridge and saw someone being handed a Nugget. "Ha! You call yourself trainers? You're all pathetic!"

"Who's that girl?" Ryan asked.

Nat thought about it. "She looks familiar…"

"Sasha, hi!" Luna said, walking over to the girl.

Sasha turned around. "What the… Luna? How did you get here so fast?"

"Well, after I beat Uncle Brock and got my Gym Badge, we found a Jigglypuff that lead us through Mt. Moon and then we were here." Luna explained.

Ryan looked confused. "So, who's Sasha?"

"Luna's rival." Nat said, glaring a bit at her.

Luna smiled. "So, we didn't do it last time, but I'm not letting you go this time." Luna said, pulling out a Poké Ball. "I challenge you to a battle, Sasha."

"A battle? Oh that's right, I guess I did say we would battle when we next saw each other, huh?" Sasha said, nodding. "Alright then. Let's see if you can put up a challenge. How many pokémon do you have?"

"I've got two." Luna said, smiling.

Sasha sighed. "Seriously? You still only have your Charmeleon and Combee?"

Luna shook her head. "No, I don't have a Charmeleon. I have a Charmander."

"Are you kidding me? You haven't even evolved it yet?" Sasha asked. "What about you?" She asked, looking over at Nat. "You challenged me back in Pewter City, right? How many pokémon do you have?"

"I've got three." Nat replied.

Sasha smiled. "So that's a total of five. Alright then. Choose two of them and we'll have a double battle."

"A double battle?" Ryan asked.

Sasha nodded. "I'll use two pokémon at a time and the two of you will use one at a time."

Nat nodded. "Alright, I'm fine with that. Luna?"

Luna nodded too. "Of course! Let's give this everything we've got!"

Sasha smirked. "Good luck to you then. You'll need it."

Nat smiled. "Luna, she just got finished with the Nugget Bridge, so her pokémon are probably pretty tired out."

"I wouldn't assume that." Sasha said, pulling out two Poké Balls. "Geodude, Spearow, let's go!"

The two pokémon hit the battlefield.

"Those two look pretty tough." Luna said, pulling out her PokéDex.

"Geodude, the Rock Pokémon. Geodude has incredibly high defensive power, making it virtually resistant to any physical attacks."

"Spearow, the Tiny Bird Pokémon. Unlike Pidgey, Spearow has a terrible attitude. It is very wild and will sometimes attack other Pokémon and humans."

Nat smiled. "Luna, we've got this. Alright, Mareep, it's showtime!" She said, tossing a ball up in the air, sending Mareep into battle.

Luna nodded. "Alright, Charmander, I choose you!" She said, sending Charmander into the battle. "Charmander, Metal Claw, now!"

"Char char!" Charmander said, running toward Geodude.

Sasha smirked. "Rushing in as always. Geodude, Magnitude."

Geodude lifted it's arms up and slammed it's fists onto the ground, causing the ground to shake.

"Mareep, Spark, now!" Nat said. Mareep charged up static in her fleece before sending it out at Spearow. "Alright, a direct hit!" she said, smiling.

When the attack stopped, Spearow shook it's head rapidly before looking back over to Mareep.

"It didn't work?" Nat said, confused. "Mareep, be careful. That Spearow is strong!"

Sasha smiled. "You don't know the half of it." Spearow then began to glow.

"What the? What's happening?" Luna asked.

"It looks like Spearow is evolving!" Ryan shouted.

Sure enough, as the glow enveloped Spearow's body, it grew larger and when the glow faded, it's evolution was complete.

"Oh no, it's a Fearow!" Nat shouted.

"Fearow huh?" Luna said, pulling out her PokéDex.

"Fearow, the evolved form of Spearow. Fearow is recognized by its long neck and elongated beak. They are conveniently shaped for catching prey in soil or water. It deftly moves its long and skinny beak to pluck prey."

Ryan gritted his teeth. "Luna be careful! Fearow are really strong flying-types!"

Luna smiled. "Guess it'll be awesome when we beat it then." She said, confidently. "Charmander, Flamethrower, now!"

Charmander opened it's mouth, sending a stream of fire toward Fearow.

"Fearow, dodge it, then hit Charmander with a Drill Peck." Sasha said, calmly.

Sure enough, Fearow move passed the flames and struck Charmander.

"Now, Mareep, Static Headbutt!" Nat shouted. Mareep ran and slammed into Fearow, shocking it. "Another direct hit!"

"Fearow!" Sasha shouted. "Very clever, coming up with an attack combo like that, but don't think you'll get me with that again. Geodude, Mud Slap!" Geodude, slapped the ground, throwing mud at Mareep. "There. How's that for a direct hit?"

"Mareep, are you okay?" She asked, receiving a nod. "Good, now use Spark on Fearow!"

"Geodude, intercept!" Sasha shouted.

Geodude jumped in front of the attack, unaffected by the shock.

"Oh no! Ground pokémon are immune to electricity!" Nat shouted.

"Geodude, Rollout." Geodude curled up and began rolling toward Charmander.

"Charmander, use Dig!" Luna shouted.

At the last second, Charmander dug a hole, narrowly being missed by Geodude's attack. "You think that'll save you? Think again. Geodude, Magnitude! Go for a 10!" Geodude lifted it's arms up again.

"Mareep, Iron Tail! Hurry!" Nat shouted. Mareep rushed over to Geodude, slamming it with an Iron Tail just before Geodude's fists made contact with the ground.

"Fearow, Swift attack!" Shouted Sasha. Several brightly colored stars hit Mareep, knocking it back.

"Oh no, Mareep!" Nat shouted.

"Charmander, come up now!" Luna commanded, Charmander leaping out of the ground and striking Geodude. "Now, Metal Claw!" Charmander scratched Geodude repeatedly with Metal Claw.

"Geodude!" She shouted, seeing it fall to the ground. "Geodude, return!" She groaned. "You got lucky with that last one, Luna. Alright, next up I choose Wartortle!"

"Wartortle." It said, appearing on the field.

"Wartortle, the evolved form of Squirtle. Often hides in water to stalk unwary prey. For swimming fast, it moves its ears to maintain balance. Its long furry tail is a symbol of its age and wisdom."

Luna smiled. "Wow, your Squirtle really did evolve already!"

"Luna, this is no time to be impressed with her pokémon! We took one down, so let's wrap this up and take down her other three." Nat said.

Luna nodded. "Right!"

"You've got this, girls!" Ryan shouted.

Sasha huffed. "Okay, Wartortle, hit Charmander with your Water Gun attack!"

"Wartortle!" Wartortle said before shooting water toward Charmander.

"Mareep, Static Heatbutt!" Nat shouted.

Mareep got in front of the Water Gun attack and rushed toward the source, charging up static in her fur.

Sasha groaned. "Wartortle, get out of the way!"

Wartortle stopped it's attack, moving to the side, causing Mareep to miss. "Now then, show it a real Headbutt!"

Wartortle got low to the ground and sprang forward at Mareep, slamming it's head into her.

"Oh no, Mareep!" Nat shouted. Mareep tried to get back up, but was unable to. "Mareep, return!" She shouted, returning her to her ball. "You did amazing, Mareep. Rest up now."

Sasha chuckled. "Well, it looks like you're down a pokémon. Guess we're tied now."

Nat smirked. "I've still got another one. Besides, it wasn't Mareep you had to look out for." She said, looking over to Luna's Charmander, which had managed to sneak around Fearow.

"Looks like your Fearow doesn't have such a keen eye after all. Okay, Charmander, hit it with a Flamethrower!" Luna said, smiling.

Charmander let out another powerful stream of fire, directly hitting Fearow now.

"Oh no, Fearow!" Sasha shouted, seeing her Fearow go down. "Alright then. Return, Fearow!"

Nat smiled. "Great work, you two." She said, giving a thumbs up to Luna as Charmander ran over to Luna for a hug.

Luna smiled. "We couldn't have done it without your Mareep distracting them."

Sasha groaned. "I will not lose. Alright, Clefairy, let's go!"

"Fairy."

"Hey, it's a Clefairy." Ryan said, smiling.

Nat's eyes narrowed. "Clefairy…" She placed Mareep's ball back where it belonged and pulled out the Moon Ball. "Alright, you ready to do this?" She said, tossing the ball up and down. "It's showtime, Jigglypuff!"

Jigglypuff came out of the ball, with a happy smile on it's face. "Jigglypuff. Puff?" She said, seeing that there was a Clefairy on the other side.

"A Jigglypuff, huh?" Sasha said, smiling. "What's with the microphone? Does it think it's a super star or something?" She said, laughing.

Nat placed her hands to her hips. "Jigglypuff is a star. And we're about to prove it."

"Alright then. Clefairy, take that microphone from Jigglypuff!" Sasha said.

"Fairy." Clefairy said, running over to Clefairy and taking the mic out of Jigglypuff's hand. "Clefairy~ Clefairy~" It said, pretending to sing into it.

Jigglypuff inflated itself out of anger. "Puff…" She said, walking over to the Clefairy and taking the microphone back and hitting Clefairy with a Pound attack. "Puff puff! Jigglypuff!"

"Jigglypuff, come here." Nat said, smiling. Jigglypuff came over to her, a bit confused. "Here, let me hang onto your microphone for you while you battle. I wouldn't want you to break it."

Jigglypuff stared at the mic, contemplating it for a moment before giving a happy nod and handing it to her. "Puff puff?"

Nat nodded. "Yes, you can have it back after the match."

"Jiggly!" Jigglypuff then turned around, ready to fight.

Clefairy looked a bit unnerved, looking back at Sasha, a bit worried.

"Go Jigglypuff, use Double Slap!" Nat said, sending Jigglypuff into the battle.

Jigglypuff ran up to Clefairy, but Clefairy managed to dodge it.

"Alright, Clefairy, now use your Double Slap!" Sasha said, smiling.

Clefairy began hitting Jigglypuff with it's own Double Slap attack.

"Jigglypuff, Pound!" Jigglypuff broke through and hit Clefairy with a strong Pound attack.

"Ah! Clefairy!" Sasha shouted. "How did you get such a strong Jigglypuff?"

Nat smiled. "This Jigglypuff's been through a lot. It's even older than us." She said, confidently.

Sasha looked annoyed. "Clefairy, can you get up?"

Clefairy got back to it's feet. "Fairy!"

"Great. Now, hit that Jigglypuff with your Disarming Voice!" Sasha said. "And Wartortle, use Rapid Spin on Charmander!"

Wartortle leaped in the air, and spun in it's shell as it flew toward Charmander, scoring a direct hit on it. "Charmander!"

Clefairy used Disarming Voice on Jigglypuff, but aside from her ears twitching a bit, she didn't react. "What's happening?"

Nat chuckled. "Don't you know? Jigglypuff is a fairy-type too, so your fairy attacks aren't going to do anything."

Charmander got back up, shooting a Flamethrower attack at Wartortle. "Charmander, can you keep going?" Luna asked. Charmander nodded, but seemed to be too tired. "Charmander, come back. I don't want you to push yourself too much." Charmander looked back to her and nodded before being returned to the Poké Ball. "You did great, Charmander. You should take a rest."

Sasha laughed. "Well, looks like all that's left is your Combee." She said, smirking. "Think you can beat me with that?"

Luna smiled and nodded. "Of course we can. Alright, Combee, I choose you!" Combee came out of it's ball and floated down in front of her. "Okay, Combee, let's win this! Use Gust on Wartortle now!"

Sasha smirked. "Alright, Wartortle, use your Water Gun attack!"

"Jigglypuff, use Double Slap!" Nat shouted.

Sasha turned her attention to her Clefairy. "Clefairy, Pound!"

The four pokémon began their attacks, but just before they could get them off, something rose up from underground.

"Hey!" Ryan shouted. "What do you think you're doing?"

Two people rose out of the top of the machine, laughing.

"Prepare for trouble." A feminine voice said.

"And make it double."

Nat groaned. "Not again..."

The two continued. "To infest the world with devastation!"

"To rule over every nation."

"To destroy the purity of truth and love."

"To extend our grasp to the stars above!"

"Bonny."

"Clyde."

"Team Rocket, blasting off at the speed of light!"

"Surrender now or prepare to fight!"

Sasha looked annoyed. "Team Rocket? You're joking, right?"

Bonny shook her head. "Why would we ever joke about being affiliated with the most powerful organization in the world?"

"What are you doing here, anyway? You just interrupted our battle." Luna asked.

Clyde chuckled. "Why don't we show you?" He said, lifting a remote in his hand and pressing a button. A few hands extended out of the machine and grabbed Wartortle, Jigglypuff, and Clefairy.

"Ah! Jigglypuff!" Nat shouted.

"Wartortle! Clefairy!" Sasha shouted, seeing the hands pull her pokémon away.

Bonny smiled. "Ah, these three should be enough for the boss for now."

"Bonny, why don't we take the Combee too?" Clyde asked.

She sighed. "Why would the boss want a weak little Combee?"

"Give back our pokémon, right now!" Sasha shouted.

"Jigglypuff! Use your Sing attack!" Nat shouted. Jigglypuff looked confused. "What's wrong?"

"Nat, Jigglypuff doesn't know it's an attack, remember?" Ryan shouted.

Nat sighed. "Oh that's right…" She said, looking up. "Alright then. Seel, it's showtime! Help us get our pokémon back!"

Seel came out of the ball. "Seel!"

"Seel, Ice Beam!" Nat shouted. Seel shot it's Ice Beam up at Bonny and Clyde, though the two of them missed.

Bonny glared at the Seel. "You little… Grimer, take care of that little pest!"

"Help it out, Beedrill!" Clyde said, sending out Beedrill.

Beedrill hit Seel with a powerful Twineedle attack and Grimer hit it with a powerful Sludge Bomb before another hand reached down and grabbed Seel.

Bonny and Clyde laughed. "You kids got lucky last time, but this time we're not getting caught off guard."

"Combee!" Luna shouted, calling her attention. "Go help them!"

Sasha pulled out a ball. "I'll show you a real Beedrill. Go!" She said, sending out her Beedrill. "Help out Luna's Combee!"

The two of them flew toward the pokemon being held hostage, but Clyde's Beedrill got in the way and smacked Combee back down as both Beedrill collided and began to fight.

"Combee, are you okay?" Luna asked.

Combee nodded before seeing a ball of sludge go past it, turning to see Grimer.

"Combee, hit it with a Gust attack!" Luna shouted.

Combee made a gust of wind, stronger than expected, blowing it up and causing it to stick to the side of the machine.

"What? Getting blown around by a little Combee?" Bonny said, annoyed.

Clyde groaned. "Beedrill, help it out!"

Combee directed another Gust at Clyde's Beedrill, causing it to fly into Grimer, getting stuck.

"Great job, Combee!" She said, smiling.

Combee then began to glow.

"What's with that Combee." Clyde asked.

"Combee?" Luna said, confused.

Nat smiled. "Luna, Combee is evolving!"

"She is?" Luna asked, looking back over to Combee.

The shape of glow began to change and after a few seconds, the glow was blown away by the newly evolved pokémon.

Ryan smiled. "Wow. Your Combee evolved into a Vespiquen!"

Luna smiled, pulling out her PokéDex.

"Vespiquen, the evolved form of Combee. Its body is a hive and it raises its offspring with the honey gathered by Combee."

Luna laughed, happily. "Awesome! Alright, Vespiquen, let's get everyone's pokémon back!"

Vespiquen nodded, sending out a pheromone into the nearby trees and grass.

"What's it doing?" Clyde asked.

Bonny smiled. "It looks like it's ignoring her. While it's just standing still like that, why don't we just grab it?"

Clyde nodded. "Right." He said, pressing the button on the remote and sending another hand to grab it.

"Luna, tell her to move!" Nat shouted.

Luna smiled. "She knows what she's doing."

The hand almost got to Vespiquen before being cut.

"Huh? What just happened?" Bonny asked.

"It looks like the it was cut." Clyde said, confused before hearing something land behind them.

"Huh?" The two said, turning around.

"Scyther…"

"It's a Scyther!" Clyde shouted.

Bonny hid behind Clyde. "Maybe it's friendly?"

Scyther moved quickly and cut the lines of the hands, causing them to drop the pokémon.

Nat ran forward, catching Seel and Jigglypuff. "Are you two alright?" She asked.

Sasha's pokémon maneuvered to land safely near her. "You guys okay?" She received a nod from them both. "Good."

Nat looked over at Luna. "Why is that Scyther helping us?"

Luna smiled. "I think Vespiquen sent out a pheromone to call some pokémon to help, and I guess that Scyther came."

Bonny ground her teeth in anger. "Those kids… Grimer, Hit them with a Sludge Bomb!"

Grimer tossed a Sludge Bomb at Vespiquen.

"Wartortle, Water Gun!"

The attack hit the Sludge Bomb out of the air.

Luna smiled. "Thanks, Sasha! Now then, Vespiquen, send them flying! Attack Order!"

Vespiquen released pheromones again, calling out several bug pokémon to her aid.

"Uh, Bonny.. I think we-"

Bonny sighed. "Clyde, don't even say it…"

Vespiquen along with the horde of bug pokémon flew up, and attacked, a couple of Beedrill piercing a control panel, causing it to spark. The pokémon all scattered with the machine exploding and launching Team Rocket up into the air.

"I can't believe we let those kids beat us again!" Clyde shouted.

"We'll get our revenge someday. Just you wait!" Bonny shouted.

"Team Rocket's blasting off again!"

Luna ran over to Vespiquen giving it a big hug. "That was amazing Vespiquen! I knew you were strong!"

Sasha smiled, returning her pokémon to their Poké Balls.

"Hey, what are you doing?" Luna asked. "We haven't finished our battle yet."

Sasha laughed a bit. "I think we're good for now. We'll have a real battle next time, alright, Luna?"

Luna looked disappointed. "And we were just about to win, too…"

"Maybe it's a good idea." Ryan said. "After all, your pokémon are probably pretty tired out right now."

Nat nodded. "Ryan's probably right."

Luna sighed. "Fine. So are we just going back to the Pokémon Center?"

Sasha smirked. "You three can. I've still got one pokémon that can keep going, and I've got a few things to heal up the others, so I'm gonna keep going to find some more pokémon to cach." She looked over to Luna. "I suggest you do the same when you get up here later. That way you won't need a player 2 next time." She said before turning around and continuing to walk down the path.

"Come on, guys. Let's get going." Ryan said.

Nat and Luna nodded and followed him back to the Pokémon Center.


End file.
